


New Blood Hustle

by Sabrium



Category: BTOB, EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Barebacking, Blow Jobs, Drug Abuse, Frottage, Homophobic Character, Homophobic Language, M/M, Non-Consensual Kissing, Non-Consensual Touching, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Organized Crime, Prostitution, Street Racing, Swearing, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-08-29 09:20:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 91,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16741264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sabrium/pseuds/Sabrium
Summary: What could be better than being a getaway driver for the big boss’ favorite band of thieves? Living a normal, law abiding life probably, but Sehun is better at driving. Too bad this little gang is nothing but trouble all wrapped up in sexy.





	1. Foreward

When I was bored one night I made [a random fan-video](https://youtu.be/WBG3Jei4IE4) and it somehow evolved into this fanfiction. This story is Sehun/Ilhoon slash (eventually) and takes place in a fictional Seoul slum.

Neither Sehun or Ilhoon are prostitutes, but it is featured heavily and Sehun works in a brothel type situation. Ilhoon is the one non-consenually kissed / touched by an un-named character, it's not overly graphic but it's graphic enough that people who are triggered by this sort of thing should be careful. It does escalate some in chapter 20 so be careful! 

Also, both Sehun and Ilhoon are criminals, along with Hyuna and E'dawn later in the story. The story is almost entirely about the criminal activity that they get up to and it is full of swearing and violence.

If I missed any warnings that need to go up let me know!


	2. Prologue: Sehun

Sehun had been good at driving since before it was legal for him. Having shitty, drug addict parents does a lot for motivation. At fourteen Sehun got tired of the single bedroom apartment his family had crammed themselves into, got tired of instant ramen and rice with nothing but kimchi, got tired of finding his mother passed out on the couch with a needle in her arm or a bottle in her hand, his father nowhere to be seen. He wished he felt guilty about stealing their shitty car but he didn’t. They never gave him anything else, it was the least they could do. His brother lived in another single bedroom apartment only ten minutes away, far enough away to ignore his family, but not so far he was out of the grimy slums they grew up in. 

When he got there some way too thin girl with dirty, dyed blond hair let him in. She didn’t ask who he was, barely looked him up and down. His brother wasn’t happy to see him, wasn’t angry or surprised, he just sighed and motioned for Sehun to sit on the couch. Someone in another situation might have hesitated. The couch was old, plaid fabric torn and thin, and covered in suspicious stains. Sehun had grown up on this kind of couch.

“What are you doing here?” Sehun shrugged and leaned back to take in the rest of his brother’s home. Another girl was sleeping against a clicking heater, heavy but cheap bracelets pressing hard into her arms, black hair covering her face. Still one more was staring out the window, but not at the city outside, she had the glazed over look of someone who had too much of something. Her hair had been cut short, revealing a neck littered with hickeys. 

“What are you doing here?” Sehun accused, but he knew exactly what his brother was doing here, why the girl at the door had let him in so easily. Most kids his age were just starting high school, enjoying summer with trips to Busan and camping in the mountains, hanging out with friends, gossiping about girls in class and scheming to download porn without their parents finding out. Sehun wasn’t most kids, fuck, no one who grew up here had that life, and this wasn’t the first time Sehun had been around prostitution. 

“You gonna snitch on me?” His older brother lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, as if getting enough of the smoke could get him out of this life. Hell, maybe it could, but Sehun decided at ten when his mother forced smoke down his lungs while her friends laughed and told him to ‘be a man’ that he would never touch a cigarette again if he had a choice in it. 

“No, I don’t care what you do.” And Sehun really meant that. He didn’t give a shit if his brother kept drugged up whores around, at least there was a roof and running water here. His brother collapsed hard on the couch next to him, slung his arm around Sehun, and chuckled to himself. Sehun didn’t find anything about their situation worth chuckling about. 

“If you want to stay here bro, you gotta pull your weight, just like the rest of us.” There was a moment where Sehun’s heart stopped. He glanced between the girls and thought about how they were ‘pulling their weight’. He knew young, pretty boys could rake in the money in a way detached, junkie girls couldn’t. As if reading his thoughts his brother pushed him hard, making Sehun fall off the couch and into the fiberboard coffee table. The tower of beer cans and soju bottles crashed to the floor and no one in the room so much as flinched.

“Fuck, I don’t mean like that. Jesus Christ.” His brother snuffed his mostly smoked cigarette into the face of some beautiful idol girl on a magazine and ambled half drunk into what Sehun assumed was the lone bedroom. Sehun opted to stay on the floor, the hard wood was dusty, covered in animal hair from an animal Sehun was sure his brother didn’t own, but he felt more grounded with the couch at his back and the table over him. When his brother returned he dropped a package in front of Sehun with a loud thunk. It was inconspicuous enough, just a plain cardboard box with a bright red ‘Korea Post’ across the side, but nothing plain came without its own set of problems here. 

“All you have to do is keep that box closed and take it to Gwangju. Not so hard right? Better than sucking dick.” Sehun’s brother kicked him a little too hard in the leg, whether it was to get Sehun moving or because of some pent up anger towards his little brother Sehun wasn’t sure. Either way, driving was something Sehun could do.

Of course, you couldn’t deliver drugs forever, not when it was more profitable to take the prostitutes to someone’s home directly. Not when you could out run cops who got a little to confident and thought they had any control in the slums. Not when someone asked you to help them get away, and you were the best at it. On Sehun’s 20th birthday his brother gifted him the greatest gift Sehun had ever received, a job as a getaway driver for the current hot shit gang leader and his little pack of thieves. Robbing was much, much more profitable than driving drugs and whores, more fun too, but nothing fun came without its own set of problems here.


	3. Prologue: Ilhoon

Ilhoon didn’t grow up poor exactly. He saw the people in the apartments below his and even as a kid he knew that was what poor looked like. It looked like dirty clothes, dirty skin, drug addiction. It looked like tape over the cracks in doors, plastic over windows, four people to a room. It looked like three thin coats in the winter and scarred, bruised skin in the summer. 

His door has always been intact, his windows kept out the cold. He had a room to himself and clean clothes with no holes, not unintentional ones anyway. He had jewelry that was gold, not plated and scratched to reveal cheap pewter. He got a good education at a school outside of the slums, and even if he had to walk there his shoes were new and comfortable. These luxuries came at a cost. He wasn’t blind to how his sister supported them, the acrid chemical smell of cooking meth didn’t wash away no matter how many times he shampooed his hair. He figured if everyone wanted to do drugs they had to get it somewhere and if that somewhere was here so be it.

Not everyone saw it that way. Other kids were instructed not to talk to him, parents spit at his feet as he passed and the only words he heard had the venomous bite of ‘poisonous, murderer, traitor’. These adults were the same ones who helped prostitutes out of gutters where johns had thrown them and fed the junkies rice with doenjang as his sister fed them the good stuff. He wasn’t worthy of kindness, in their eyes he was a predator in the midst of prey.

When he was old enough, 15 according to his sister, he put his education to good use. He was smart, his sister told him so, smart enough to make meth better than she did. He figured it had something to do with the waning meth market more than anything. It didn’t matter to him either way, he was in it just as much as she was. Together they made something new, better than meth, and if it was more addictive, if it messed with your reasoning just a little bit more than meth did, all the better for them, right? They called it the Miracle Cure, but what they were curing Ilhoon had no idea. Truth was, he didn’t care.

The problem with things that are better and newer, especially when those things make money, is that they attract attention. It took less than a year for the big Boss of the slums to get his grubby, gold covered fingers in their pie. He kept a close watch on them and suddenly Ilhoon’s solitary existence was filled with muscled goons who towered over him, a not so subtle reminder that he and Joo didn’t run things and never would.

At eighteen Ilhoon got his first gift from the Boss, a fancy watch he didn’t like. It was studded with diamonds and was gawky and tasteless on his thin wrist. He pawned it for a night out of drinking and a cheap toy watch some kid was selling on the street outside of the bar. This earned him a firm backhand from the Boss two days later.

“Don’t make me hurt you like this. Your face is too pretty for bruises.” The Boss trailed his fingers across Ilhoon’s jaw gently, stepping closer into Ilhoon’s space. It made his stomach turn. The Boss didn’t kiss him, but his lips were dangerously close to Ilhoon’s, expensive whiskey and cigarettes still strong on his breath. A hand trailed down Ilhoon’s back to his waist, the other gripped the wrist still sporting Ilhoon’s toy watch as if the item itself was mocking the Boss. Who knows, maybe it was. 

“You shouldn’t wear cheap shit like this.” In one hard yank the watch snapped off. The jagged, second-rate plastic leaving a deep bite in Ilhoon’s skin. Ilhoon forced himself not to flinch. He could feel tears in the corners of his eyes, not from pain, he’d had enough people bigger and stronger than him pushing him around to ignore it, but from hatred. It felt like bitter bile rising up his throat. 

“Take him home,” the Boss motioned to one of his doormen. “Get him some ice for that face.”

At nineteen Ilhoon still received gifts, expensive ones, and he still sold them. He took pride in the fact the Boss had given up hitting him in the face for the most part, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t punished in other ways. Sometimes the muscle would hit him places that couldn’t be seen, sometimes they’d take things away, like his phone, as if he was a child and wasn’t smart enough to have a burner just in case. Once they hit Joo, kept hitting Joo until he begged on his knees to the Boss. The Boss kissed him hard that day, and Ilhoon let him, just thankful he wasn’t forced to do more. He knew that day was coming, the Boss wasn’t going to take no for an answer much longer.

At nineteen he begged to branch out from cooking drugs, he had even been ‘behaving’ as the Boss put it, so he was allowed to take part in other work. Maybe it helped that he had found just the right amount of flirting to get what he wanted from the Boss, even if he hated himself afterwards for it. It didn’t matter, he would do whatever it took to gain access to money and people. At twenty Ilhoon had a plan. He was going overthrow the Boss if it took his dying breath.


	4. Bad Boys, Bank Jobs, Black Coffee

                Sehun’s car stood out in this area. He knew it. It was a blazing baby blue with sleek lines and new paint. He stood out too, leaning against the windshield, stretched out across the hood like a model. He liked standing out, just a little, he even let one of his brother’s girls dye his hair bright orange. She meant to dye it red. She scrubbed the chemicals into his hair with determination, swearing to him that cosmetology was how she got out of this life, and someday she’d style the idols. He figured if she couldn’t even get his hair the right color that wouldn’t happen, but he had been in a good mood and there was no point in crushing her dreams.

                He closed his eyes behind his designer sunglasses and took in the sun while he waited. He heard from his brother that the guy he was meeting here was a spoiled rotten dick. Sehun mentioned his brother was a dick too and that didn’t mean much. Still, he had heard rumors of Ilhoon getting all sorts of expensive presents and special attention. Not that he had a favorable opinion of Joo and Ilhoon to begin with, no one did unless they were high as shit. He got it though, wanting to have more than you probably deserve. If he didn’t he wouldn’t be here.

                “Nice car.” It was the first time Sehun had actually seen Ilhoon in person. He was smaller than Sehun imagined, tight black jeans accentuating thin legs and a too big jacket resting on slight shoulders. His face was pretty, feminine, and that mouth, the money it could make. Not that Sehun was thinking of Ilhoon with a dick in his mouth, definitely not, not even a little. Sehun slid off the hood with less grace than he would have liked and opened the passenger door for Ilhoon, the spoiled brat. Ilhoon rolled his eyes in response.

                “I’m Sehun.” Ilhoon was on his phone the second he was in the car.

                “I guessed.” Sehun felt himself grinding his teeth as he circled the car. He chanted the mantra ‘think of the pay day’ on repeat in his head. The leather interior of his car was hot on his skin as he dropped into the driver’s seat. If it bothered Ilhoon he didn’t say anything. Thank God for small favors.

                Their drive to the next location was silent, Ilhoon was entertained enough by his phone and Sehun didn’t mind the quiet. They pulled up to a shoddy, grey plaster apartment building that looked exactly the same as every other grey plaster apartment building in the area. Cheap and sturdy, the city planner had said. Sturdy his ass, Sehun couldn’t remember the last time he saw a building that wasn’t in some state of disrepair. Ilhoon pulled him out of his thoughts with a hard jerk of the driver side door, smirking down at Sehun like he was paying him back for some misdeed. Sehun scoffed and drug himself out of his car.

                The apartment of the other thieves was… colorful. Sehun couldn’t think of a better word. It was the same as every other ‘affordable one bedroom’, but the walls were graffitied in their entirety. Some of it was good, some of it not so much. He was staring directly at a large pair of tits with no face when Ilhoon spoke for him.

                “This is Sehun.” Ilhoon gestured to him and made his way to the kitchen. Saying the two people who stood before him were attractive was the understatement of the century. The girl somehow managed to be adorable and sexy all at once, the guy was quiet but smiled a little every time he glanced at his partner. Sehun wondered if they could pull off jobs just by batting eyelashes and asking pretty please.

                “Hyuna, and this is E’dawn.” She patted E’dawn’s chest with a perfectly manicured hand and he laced their fingers. A couple huh? Before he had a chance to feel like a third wheel Hyuna pulled Sehun down onto the couch with her. It was clean and new. A testament to their success.

                “Sehun eh? How old are you?”

                “Twenty but –“

                “Oh, so the same age as our Ilhoonie.” Ilhoonie who had just returned from the kitchen with some sparkling beverage in a green bottle and collapsed heavily into the chair across from them. E’dawn seemed content to stand.

                “I’m sure you’ll fit in well with us! I heard you’re a great driver. Luna said so, right Ilhoon?” Ilhoon looked at Sehun with calculating eyes, like he was solving a puzzle. Luna was one of his brother’s girls, but Sehun hadn’t heard her mention knowing Ilhoon or Hyuna.

                “Yeah, she did.” Hyuna shifted through some blue prints on the coffee table in front of her absently.

                “And I’m sure you aren’t bothered by what happened to Ji-sung.” Sure, it didn’t bother Sehun at all. He was happy pretending being ‘in a better place’ meant he moved to Jeju to live the rest of his life by the ocean. Regardless, Sehun was better than Ji-sung, a lot better, and the thought of dying in a blaze of gunfire wasn’t any worse than the thought of dying strung out, freezing in the stairwell of his building. He’d seen enough of those bodies to know getting shot was preferable.

                “It doesn’t bother me.” Hyuna smiled cutely at him but underneath the aegyo Sehun could feel the judgement. He didn’t back up, didn’t look away. Hyuna was in charge of them, and he knew the judgement was warranted. They almost didn’t make it back when Ji-sung fucked up and he knew Hyuna wouldn’t let him get away with anything. Still, he wasn’t about to back down, withering under her gaze like a delicate flower. As his brother put it, ‘don’t be a fucking pussy’.

                “Good, let’s get started.” Whatever test she wanted him to pass he apparently did. She pulled the blueprints apart, spreading them out to get a better look. E’dawn smiled at Sehun encouragingly and sat on the floor, elbows resting heavy on the coffee table. Ilhoon and Hyuna met eyes in a silent conversation, eventually ending with Ilhoon on the floor as well. Down to business it was then.

                The glaring text IBK Yeouido was printed across the top of each one. Sehun worked at the muscles in his hand. IBK was no small target, this wasn’t going to be robbing some won from the convenience store to ease into it. This was going straight for gold on your first try. He wouldn’t be intimidated, he was the best.

                Ilhoon reached forward to add two red circles on a blueprint with a smattering of them already. He tapped the pen against them in irritation until E’dawn stilled his hand. Hyuna focused on them for only a minute before looking back up to Ilhoon.

                “Two more security cameras huh? What are they so paranoid about?” Sehun laughed. Thankfully E’dawn did too, pushing Hyuna’s leg playfully as he did.

                “Us. They’re paranoid about us, noona.” Hyuna swatted at his hand but smiled.

                “Yeah, but they shouldn’t know about us. You weren’t sticking out like a fashionable but sore thumb were you?” Ilhoon shook his head and pulled at his jacket. Sehun hadn’t considered the leopard print might be something a thief shouldn’t wear. If he was being honest with himself, it looked cool as hell, not his style, but cool. He was more of a bright color, neon night-life sort of guy himself.

                “I had Jackson do it.”

                “Jackson? That junkie con-man who can’t be quiet to save his life?” Ilhoon made a sour face at Hyuna and she made one right back.

                “Yes Jackson, he’s reliable.”

                “Reliable to you maybe.”

                “Well it’s a good fucking thing I was the one who asked him then huh?” Okay, so maybe tensions were a little higher on this job than Sehun had originally anticipated. E’dawn seemed undisturbed by their bickering and that was good enough for him. E’dawn would have to be the meter to judge how well things were going apparently.

                “At least tell me you gave him the Cure after he did the job.” Ilhoon shrugged and leaned back on his palms, away from the table.

                “Half before half after. You know some people can’t function without a little bit first.” Sehun wanted to point out that Ilhoon himself was responsible for their inability to function, that Ilhoon should maybe ease up on junkies he and Joo created with their fucking Miracle Cure. A cure for shit is what it was. It was just pushing people balancing on the edge off and saying ‘there! All better!’ Not that he would say that out loud.

                “I don’t want to rely on the word of someone who was high when they saw the cameras. We can’t and you know it.” Hyuna’s voice lost all of it’s cute lilt and dropped into a deadly, serious tone. Ilhoon looked like he wanted to argue but in the end he’d rather be safe than right.

                “Yeah fine, tomorrow I’ll stop by myself and make sure they’re where he said they were. I can’t keep going in there though, you think they’re suspicious now? Wait until I go in for the third time.” Hyuna looked at the blueprints and considered what Ilhoon was saying. Sehun knew he had a point, it was a bank mostly geared towards foreigners to begin with.

                “Okay, take Sehun and have him go in instead. He hasn’t been in before.” Hyuna eyed his tropical pattern shirt, orange hair, and worried her lip. Well, he did say he liked to stand out, but E’dawn had bleach blond hair and she wasn’t giving him that look.

                “And give him something else to wear, and a hat… maybe glasses.”

                “You got it boss.” Sehun wanted to point out that Ilhoon couldn’t agree for him, that maybe he should have a say in what he does, but rocking the boat right now seemed like a bad idea. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t do it, it was probably going to be the easiest part of this whole job, so fuck, he’ll let himself be commanded a bit.

                They went over a few more things, planning what they could with the new security cameras in mind. They talked about the schedule of security and what they knew about the people working, using a blueprint with cute little cartoon people drawn in green marker. Sehun tried to pay attention, but he had never driven for a bank job before and a lot of it was lost on him. It didn’t matter on his end anyway, so if he drifted in and out a little what did it matter?

                He did pay attention when they started going over the escape, they were starting to pick out alleys, traffic cams, and the most likely routes for police to take depending on patrols. There were still too many gaps in their knowledge for Sehun’s liking.

                “When you and Ilhoon are out tomorrow drive around a little, see what you can find. Just be careful.” Sehun could do careful. It wasn’t his favorite thing, in fact if you asked he’d tell you he didn’t like it at all, but when it came to being careful or getting them all caught he’d chose careful every time. Besides, with Ilhoon as his chaperone it wasn’t like he could do whatever. Not that he would fuck off or anything. He was a professional now.

                The next day when Sehun rang Ilhoon’s doorbell he was greeted by a large man in a suit, the guy wasn’t that much taller than him but he was built like he was trying to become a damn body-builder. Sehun guessed everyone had to have dreams.

                “What the fuck do you want?”

                “Let him in, stop acting like you run the place.” The first thing Sehun noticed when he slipped in was the sharp smell of chemicals, it was pungent in the air and gave away the purpose of an otherwise normal apartment. The second thing was Ilhoon. Ilhoon who was wearing a navy sweater, sleeves long enough to cover most of his hands, with a pink button up shirt underneath it. Ilhoon who was sporting gold rim glasses and unstyled hair. Why the fuck did he look so cute? What was happening? As if sensing Sehun was uncomfortable but not understanding exactly why Ilhoon waved a hand at the doorman dismissively.

                “Don’t mind him. He’s just here to make sure I don’t run off into the night or let in some creep here to steal my perceived innocence.” Ilhoon was irritated as hell, and there was definitely a story there, but Sehun didn’t have the courage to ask. He decided to stick to an easier question.

                “What are you wearing?” Sehun couldn’t help himself, he pulled at the long sleeves and chuckled. Ilhoon looked at him with a half smile and a look that said Sehun had asked a stupid question.

                “We’re supposed to be blending in, dumbass.” Ilhoon returned Sehun’s gesture by pulling at the sleeves of Sehun’s red leather jacket. Okay, so he had a point. The doorman cleared his throat and Ilhoon stepped back.

                “I wasn’t even touching him, Jesus Christ.” Ilhoon started to make his way down a hall, gesturing for Sehun to follow him. “Are you going to tell the big boss that I had a boy in my room?” The doorman didn’t say anything in return. Ilhoon’s room was smaller than Sehun thought it would be, and it was simple. There were no pictures or posters. It was just a plain bed and a desk covered in notebooks. Clothes took up the rest of the space, some in a closet, some on the floor. The whole place was as inviting as a jail cell.

                “I don’t know if I have clothes that will fit you well but…” Ilhoon’s eyes raked over Sehun’s body and he suddenly felt self-conscious.

                “Your jeans are fine, but your shirt has to go.” Ilhoon rifled through the closet and pulled out a black button-down. He thrust it into Sehun’s hands without looking and continued his search. What the hell, Ilhoon clearly knew how to blend in better than he did. He pulled off his worn, threadbare tee and pulled on Ilhoon’s shirt. He was working his way up the buttons when he felt it. Ilhoon was staring at him. Sehun couldn’t help but smirk, damn straight, he was attractive and he knew it.

                “This too.” His eyes met Ilhoon’s, and if he gazed at Ilhoon from under his lashes, eyes half-lidded in a way the made girls gasp, well Ilhoon couldn’t prove it. The sweater vest that was ‘this too’ whisked away his amusement.

                “Really? Argyle?” Ilhoon rolled his eyes and Sehun realized that maybe he misread why Ilhoon was staring at him. Maybe Ilhoon just thought he was really really stupid.

                “We’re going to the financial district.” Sure, yeah, because Sehun knew what the upper crust bankers in Yeouido wore. He guessed that may be part of the point though so he pulled the stupid, grey argyle atrocity over his head. As soon as it was down Ilhoon plopped a hat on his head and started laughing, hard.

                “What?” Ilhoon couldn’t get words out right away. He was laughing all the way to his eyes, so much so he covered his face in his hands in an attempt to hide, and fuck, that was cute too. Sehun grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands away from his face so he could give Ilhoon a menacing glare. It only started the laughter all over again.

                “You look so dumb! The fedora…” and more laughter. Sehun adjusted it back on his head a bit, but without a mirror he couldn’t tell if it was better. Apparently it was better enough because Ilhoon managed to calm down. It was in this moment of silence, with Ilhoon appraising him, that he realized he was still holding one of Ilhoon’s narrow wrists, and a quick glance was all it took to notice the bruises his hand partially covered.

                “Sorry.” Ilhoon shook his head, but worried at his wrist anyway. The light air of the room had been sucked out in an instant and Sehun felt guilty, he never felt guilty.

                “Where…” He wanted to ask where he got the bruises, but he wasn’t an idiot, it was obvious someone had gripped his wrist the same way Sehun had just done. Except harder. Much harder. If Sehun was a betting man, and he was, hell he even won more often than not, his money would be on the Boss. Ilhoon himself said the doorman was there to keep watch over him. The rumors of expensive presents made a lot more sense. Sehun had so many questions but this wasn’t throwing dice in an alley or playing poker in someone’s basement. If he was wrong he was risking a lot more than a few thousand won.

                “Let’s go.” And they did. Ilhoon flipped off the doorman on the way out.

                Sehun wished they had taken his car, but at least Ilhoon let him drive. They drove around the block, Ilhoon taking hurried notes about alleys and the cars in them. Sehun pointed out a few traffic cams he knew the gang had missed before.

                “We should follow along what you think would be the best route.” Ilhoon trusted Sehun’s opinion and it made Sehun’s place in the group feel more solid. Then again, Ilhoon had apparently trusted a high junkie to tell him where security cameras were. Still, Sehun took them along a possible route, but as Ilhoon made notes along the path it didn’t feel right.

                “Let’s try another one.” Ilhoon nodded and flipped to a new page.

                “Yeah, try as many as you want. More information is better than less.” So Sehun tried as many as he wanted. He drove, Ilhoon made notes. The studious silence was relaxing and grounding in equal parts and it was almost time for the bank to close before Sehun even realized it. He pulled up across the street, in front of a coffee shop with a Parisian feel. Ilhoon grabbed his arm and looked him dead in the eye.

                “Jackson said they were here,” he motioned to a sketch of the banks interior, it looked pretty damn close to the blueprint, “and here.”

                “You trust Jackson?”

                “Yes I do.” Sehun searched Ilhoon’s face for hesitation, for a lie, and Ilhoon must have felt the intensity. He released Sehun’s arm and adjusted his glasses awkwardly. Sehun swore he could see a blush, but he definitely didn’t see any trace of doubt in Jackson.

                “Okay, I’ll be back soon.”

                “If you get a chance, check to see who is working security. Only if you get the chance, don’t risk looking out of place.” Sehun had a feeling he was going to look out of place no matter what he did, he was a twenty year old who grew up in the slums, was wearing clothes a size too small for him, and the only experience he had with the banker types was when they were hiring a prostitute. Eh, how hard could it be really?

                Even the fucking air was different. That’s how hard it could be. He knew he was fidgeting, he couldn’t help it. The pale gold marble made it feel like the god damn sun was shining indoors and the people looked like they were magazine cut-outs. He did clock the security cameras, and they were right where Jackson said they were.

                “Excuse me, sir.” No one had ever called him sir before, and now there was this teller, a pinched skeptical look on her face, perfect grey suit that probably cost as much as his rent. “Can I help you?”

                “Oh, yeah. I have a friend moving here from America. I promised her I would check out some banks so…” He shrugged in a way that he hoped meant ‘Americans, what can you do?’ She seemed to buy it, pinched face easing into a smile. When he smiled back she got that look that a lot of girls get, the one that means she’s thinking of him as a sexual object. Perfect.

                “My friend is young and pretty and I just want to make sure she has the best,” he leaned closer over the granite counter, “and I’m sure you’d know what it’s like for girls who are young and pretty.” It may have been a little thick, but the teller was eating it up regardless.

                “Why don’t you come and tell me what your friend is looking for?” The teller, Jinsu her name tag read, was practically purring. Sehun wanted to laugh at her exaggerated hip swing as she led him to a small office in the back. She sat on the chair next to him instead of at the desk, and was she seriously crossing her legs in slow motion? She even hiked her skirt up on ‘accident’. It took everything he had to swallow his laughter. Instead, he gazed obviously at her skin and smiled at her when their eyes met.

                “She’s coming as a student, but her parents are…” He remembered the higher end types didn’t tend to brag if they came from serious money, that was the newer rich. “Let’s just say they want to make sure they set her up somewhere they trust. Somewhere where the money will be safe.” He could feel the teller pulling back at the topic of business. Alright, full on it was. He grabbed her hand gently and rested it on his own knee.

                “I’m sure you could tell me about how safe it is here in detail right? It may take a while but we should be thorough…” He ran his fingertips playful against the back of her hand and she flushed. Ha. Not so confident when someone else was being forward, eh? But she did go over the security of the bank with him, leaning close and whispering about things that really had no business being whispered about, and he found out something that was bad, very bad. In two days they would be changing protocols and upgrading the security system.

                Before he could get anymore information his phone cut off their conversation. Ilhoon was calling. Shit. “Hey, Tiffany. How’s my favorite American?”

                “What? What the hell are you doing?” He winked at the teller and she stifled a giggle behind her hand.

                “I’m talking to someone at a bank about their security, only the best for you.” Ilhoon sighed so long and deep Sehun was impressed with his lung capacity. Didn’t being around all those cooking drugs fuck up your lungs?

                “Let me talk to her.” Sehun hesitated, his face falling into a frown before he could stop it. Ilhoon did hear him say Tiffany, right? He didn’t know what else to do so he passed the phone over.

                “She wants to talk to you.” The teller seemed confused but took the phone anyway.

                “Uhm… hello?” A panicked look crossed the teller’s face and she scanned Sehun’s body from head to toe. What the fuck was Ilhoon saying to her?

                “I’m sorry miss, yes we do but-“ The teller subconsciously sat taller in her chair, all informal posture changing with the tone of the conversation. She was nodding as Ilhoon spoke, as if he could see her.

                “Of course, I would be happy to send any information we have with your boyfriend.” The teller sent Sehun a cold glare and drew out boyfriend like it was a swear word. Before Sehun could defend himself the office door swung open to reveal a man in a pressed suit. The fabric was expensive, a slight sheen on the black screamed ‘I make more money than you’.

                “Jinsu, who is this and why is he back here?” Oh shit, this guy didn’t have a name tag like the rest of them, can’t poke a hole in that suit, and the tone definitely meant he was in charge. Jinsu stood and straightened her clothes, still glaring, hung up on Tiffany, Ilhoon, whatever, and thrust the phone back at him.

                “This is the boyfriend of a very angry American. He’s been trying to convince her to change banks after he cheated on her with the teller at her current one.” Eh, he could be a scumbag he supposed. It wouldn’t be the first time, and technically he was using sex appeal to get what he wanted by taking advantage of someone so… if the fancy, scumbag shoe fit.

                “Here. She said to take these to her and she’ll think about it.” The teller stuffed a bunch of security papers in his hands and stormed out, coming in only a moment later to add more crumpled papers to the pile. “Take this too. I hope she does come to this bank! At least you’ll never cheat on her with someone here.” That was a bit of an overreaction, Sehun had just met the lady, damn. She didn’t need to spit venom like she was. Apparently this wasn’t out of the ordinary though, the man in the suit just rolled his eyes and waved him out.

                “Sorry about Jinsu she’s a little…” his eyes glazed over as if recalling a traumatic memory, “much.” Sehun laughed and nodded. “Yeah, thanks for this. It was one mistake right?” The man stopped them just before the door, nodding back and putting an understanding hand on Sehun’s shoulder.

                “It sucks, but men are men right? We have needs.” Well, most men didn’t need to cheat on their significant others.

                “Thank you for this security stuff, I know Tiffany really worries about it and… I just want her to stay.” He managed to keep his voice sad and distant, but in his head Sehun was picturing Ilhoon in a blond wig and pink dress, carrying a little poodle in a bag as he stomped around the bank.

                “Look… why don’t you tell her we are hiring some guys from SKL. They’ll be starting in about a month and they are the absolute best. I think she’d really appreciate that and we aren’t announcing it.” Sehun did hug him then, he smelled like too much cologne, a nice cologne, but still too much.

                “Thank you.” The man pushed him out the door and wished him luck.

                Ilhoon was scowling, furrowed brows and arms crossed as he rested against the driver’s side door. He wasn’t so much threatening as he was… well he looked like an angry puppy. He seriously needed to get out of these clothes and back into the fashionable ones that made him look at least somewhat cool.

                “What the hell were you doing!?” The furious tone was a lot more frightening than Ilhoon’s image. Sehun pulled him into the coffee shop as quickly as he could, they weren’t exactly in the eye line of the bank, but it couldn’t hurt to be off the street just in case.

                “The teller asked me what I was doing and I… thought up something to tell her.” Panicked, he had panicked and said the first thing that came to mind. He dumped his arm load of papers on a small table in the corner. It was behind a fake plant that hadn’t been dusted in nine thousand years, but it kept the table mostly out of sight.

                “She gave me these security papers, why don’t you go through them and I’ll grab some coffee.” Ilhoon was giving him that careful, calculated look that meant he was thinking of everything Sehun had done, was doing, and would do. Sehun stared back, he wasn’t sure what else to do besides wait for Ilhoon.

                “Fine, caramel macchiato with triple caramel and low fat milk.”

                “What the point of the low fat milk if you get triple caramel?”

                “It tastes lighter.”

                “With triple caramel isn’t it just syrup?” Ilhoon ignored him and turned to the security papers, straightening out edges where Jinsu had crumpled them in a rage. Sehun took that as his cue and made his way to the register. Caramel macchiato with triple caramel and low fat milk for Ilhoon, plain black coffee for him. Ten thousand won for Ilhoon’s, two thousand for his. He sighed and swiped his card. He shouldn’t be worrying about ten thousand won when he’s about to rob a bank. The cashier handed him a cute, hand crafted ceramic mug shaped like a cat for his coffee.

                “Name for the macchiato?” Sehun quirked the corner of his mouth up into a half smile.

                “Tiffany.” The cashier laughed knowingly and put the name in.

                “My girlfriend has a sweet tooth too.” Yep, his girlfriend, who he apparently cheated on right as she was moving here from a different country. His girlfriend who was studying the security papers with a troubled look on his face. Sehun slipped into the chair across from Ilhoon, setting his too hot coffee as far away from the papers as he could get.

                “What is it?” Ilhoon looked up at him.

                “This is a lot more than we planned for. The only good thing is when I asked if the tellers had access to the vault she said they did.” At Sehun’s blank look Ilhoon continued. “but all of this, changing to high res cameras, changing money handling protocols…” He sighed and rubbed the heels of his palms into his eyes, pushing his glass off on to the table.

                “This is good to know,” he hesitated, “thank you.” Sehun let himself feel cocky, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair like someone had just told him he had a big dick. Ilhoon took one look at his smile and rolled his eyes.

                “Tiffany!” The voice came loud and clear from the coffee station and Sehun laughed. Ilhoon wasn’t nearly as amused.

                “Really? I just complimented you and this is the thanks I get?”

                “In my defense, I ordered before you complimented me.” They sat for a moment, Ilhoon tapping a pen on the table, that seemed to be a nervous habit of his.

                “Well, are you going to get it?” Sehun wanted to protest but he didn’t necessarily want the cashier to see his ‘girlfriend’ so he groaned and trekked off like the loyal boyfriend he was. He wasn’t one to cheat when it came to reality, and he has always treated the girls he was with well. Not that he was Ilhoon’s actual boyfriend. If anything Ilhoon was a princess and he was the servant. The cashier gave him a pitying smile.

                “So, why did you call?” Ilhoon accepted the drink with both hands.

                “You were supposed to check out the security cameras, not be gone for twenty minutes. The bank manager had shown up and he’s the cautious type.” Sehun nodded and downed his cooling coffee in two swallows. He was rethinking his prideful playing around.

                “Why did you want to talk to her?” Ilhoon looked from Sehun’s empty cup up to Sehun’s face and sipped his own drink softly, licking the foam off his lips afterwards. That was more attractive than it should have been. Sehun seriously needed to stop thinking of Ilhoon as his girlfriend.

                “Jinsu was working today, she’s known to be… flirty, but she was also recently cheated on. By the bank manager.” Ilhoon shrugged a little as if he was just pointing out obvious facts instead of a deliberate plan to use his observational skills to save Sehun’s problematic ass.

                “I figured if they were worked up they wouldn’t be as suspicious. It worked right?”

                “Yeah, the manager even wanted me to tell you that they’re hiring SKL people next month.”

                “Fuck.”

                “Yeah.” There was a silence as Ilhoon worked through his syrup. Sehun leaned forward to rest on his elbows, catching the smaller man’s eyes. He stared as intensely as his could and in the deepest, most serious voice he could muster commanded,

                “Do the girl voice.” Ilhoon’s eyes widened, startled, but he laughed at Sehun afterwards.

                “What?” Sehun laughed too and pulled the mug away from Ilhoon’s mouth.

                “C’mon, seriously. I have to hear it.” Ilhoon turned his head to the side, shy, and patted his blushing cheeks. It took him minute but he replied low and severe,

                “Fine, but this never leaves the coffee shop, understand?” Sehun held up three fingers, as if he had ever been part of the Korean Scouts. He saw some trying to do charity work in the slums once, and only once. The leaders said it wasn’t safe after that. Psh, kids see one dead body and suddenly it’s not ‘safe’. Ilhoon probably wasn’t a scout either, but he got the point.

                “Oppa, won’t you buy me one more coffee?” Sehun was a little disturbed by how girly it really was, or maybe it was by how compelled he felt to buy more coffee. Either way he laughed so hard his sides hurt and he had to hold his mouth to stop from bothering the other patrons. Ilhoon hid behind his macchiato in embarrassment, but Sehun could see through tear filled eyes that Ilhoon was smiling.


	5. Dog eat Dog

                Hyuna was less than impressed, both with him and with the new information. He had been demoted to sitting on the floor next to Ilhoon while E’dawn had the couch. Sure, it wasn’t actually a demotion, Ilhoon seemed to be second in command and he sat on the floor, but it still felt that way.

                “You can’t just act however you want.” Hyuna didn’t have a raised voice, but with the way she forced the words out through gritted teeth she might as well have been screaming at him.

                “I know, I-“ But Ilhoon put a hand on his shoulder and cut him off.

                “And you can’t work with people you don’t trust.” There it was, that stupid silent conversation Hyuna and Ilhoon seemed to be so fucking good at. Sehun glanced over at E’dawn who was taking it in stride. E’dawn half smiled at him and shrugged a bit. That had to be a good sign right?

                “Are you telling me you trust him? You don’t even know him.” Ilhoon shifted closer to the coffee table, meeting Hyuna’s eyes like a challenge. Sehun felt like maybe he should be doing something, this was about him after all, but he had no idea what that might be. He just stared straight ahead. Did the tits always have piercings or were those new? Who was doing all of this graffiti?

                “He got us information didn’t he? It’s not like I wasn’t there.” Hyuna threw herself back against the couch with a groan and punched into one of the cushions. Sehun startled back to attention.

                “Are you always going to be there to take care of him?”

                “I’m right h-“ Sehun started, but maybe he had just become fucking mute or something?

                “Unless I die.” Sehun could have cut the tension with a knife. The way Ilhoon said it… it was like an eventuality he was prepared for. Sehun felt his throat get tight, he was doing something really dangerous. The last person in his position was dead, and Sehun could guarantee that idiot wasn’t ‘in a better place’, that idiot was in hell with everyone else Sehun had seen die.

                “Are you okay?” Bless E’dawn and his kind soul. Sehun nodded, he was fine. He was fine when one of his brother’s girls got way too high, stabbed him the shoulder and held the knife to his throat while she ‘robbed him of his sense of self’ or some shit. How fucked up was it that this memory was comforting somehow?

“Let’s get to work.” Ilhoon had all of the papers from the bank laid out. It wasn’t anything in detail, just some things they’d give a patron, but the others seemed to know what to do with it. They were mumbling about cameras with infrared and more sensitive sensors for something else. Sehun tried to pay closer attention this time. He didn’t know anything about the inner workings of a fancy international bank, but he could at least try to learn.

“Next month they’re hiring security from SKL.” Hyuna exhaled through her nose, eyes closed, as if Ilhoon had just told her the bank was going to be run by thirteen year old girls with high-pitched voices who say ‘like’ too much. It was pure irritation.

“Okay… Okay this could work out.” She chewed on the cap of her pen for a minute before sizing Sehun and Ilhoon up.

“I know someone at SKL who might help us out, I’ll set up a meeting. Since you trust Sehun so much you can take him with you.” Sehun was getting the feeling that he might not be much use elsewhere anyway.

“E’dawn will start working on the cameras and the alarm system, see what hacking we can do.” E’dawn was good with computers? He didn’t even wear glasses. Or maybe he did, Sehun didn’t know. Maybe he shouldn’t be judging who is good at what based on looks.

“I’m going to see what I can find out about why they’re increasing security so much.” That seemed to be the end of it, everyone was standing to leave. Hyuna grabbed Ilhoon’s arm hard.

“Stay in touch okay? I’ll call you when I set up the meeting but…” Ilhoon nodded solemnly.

“Yeah I know, if it’s someone tipping them off it’s someone close to the boss.” His voice was small and low.

“Just don’t get hurt.” He rested his hand over hers for comfort. Sehun wanted to stay out of it, but he couldn’t. He had already fucked up, he had to make up for it somehow. He put his hand on top of theirs. They looks they gave him were such a mess of confused and disturbed he wanted to snort at them. Seriously, what the hell did they think he was going to do?

“I won’t let him get hurt.” Hyuna laughed at him, E’dawn seemed startled and amused but managed to keep it together. Ilhoon just patted his chest and pulled him out the door.

“You’re real cute, you know that?” Psh, like Ilhoon could talk about being cute.

                It was a whole week before they could meet with Hyuna’s SKL contact. Sehun’s brother decided a week was too long with no work so he had been tasked with running girls around. They seemed to manage fine while he wasn’t there, but he wasn’t going to bring it up. He knew they felt safer when he was waiting outside.

                Really, a week probably wasn’t that long, but it felt like an eternity before he saw Ilhoon again. He had sort of assumed that being a getaway driver would be all flashy cars and driving fast. He hadn’t really considered all the waiting and planning that had to be done. He was lying in the back seat looking over the notes Ilhoon had taken about their various escape routes. Four red cars down route one… They were all parked, three with permanent parking passes. Red cars could be a good distraction… The knock on his window nearly made his heart stop.

                “Motherfucker.” He clutched at the cerulean button up he was wearing and glowered at Ilhoon. Ilhoon who was staring into the car with a cheeky half-grin. Dick. Sehun crawled over into the driver’s seat, it took longer than he thought it would and he could hear Ilhoon giggling as he dropped into the passenger side.

                “Must be nice to take your own car. You sure seem more comfortable in it.” Sehun straightened his clothes the best he could and tried not to rise to the bait. It was hard to climb to the front because he was tall, dammit. Ilhoon’s short ass could mock him all he wanted. Sehun still blushed in embarrassment and wished he’d used the doors.

                “Hyuna said we’re meeting at the café on Hangil, you know it?” It was so vague, but yeah, he knew it. There were only two places in the entire slums that called themselves a ‘café’, both places were so shitty even coffee shop was too fancy, ‘some guy with a working coffee pot’ was more accurate.

                “Yeah, I know it.” Sehun parked in front, right next to a beat-up, broke-down old Honda. It was probably white once but now it was covered in rust and graffiti. Sehun held the door for Ilhoon like a gentleman, servant, whatever. He was adjusting to being Ilhoon’s lackey, even though he doubted Ilhoon saw him that way. He wondered if Hyuna held the door for Ilhoon. E’dawn probably held the door for both of them, he seemed like the only nice one.

                “Sehun! What are you doing here?” A man with a crooked smile and cat eyes beamed at him from a brand new, shiny espresso machine. Just how the hell could Xiumin afford that?

                “New equipment, eh hyung?” Sehun leaned across the counter, pushing some homemade cookies out of the way. It wasn’t like there were any other customers anyway. Xiumin slapped his hand on the machine like a salesman.

                “The absolute best! Want something?” Sehun smiled over his shoulder at Ilhoon. Ilhoon wasn’t nearly as at ease, his whole body was rigid with tension and he was glancing at the empty tables nervously. Sehun reached back and pulled Ilhoon to stand next to him.

                “Coffee?” Ilhoon took in Xiumin’s waiting posture.

                “Oh, yeah. Caramel Macchiato with triple caramel and low-fat milk.” Xiumin’s smile fell and he turned to Sehun. Sehun who was laughing at both of them. Had Ilhoon seriously never ordered coffee at one of the slum’s famous cafés? You’d be lucky if they have milk at all, let alone caramel syrup.

                “How about an Americano with a ton of sugar?” Xiumin offered with a grimace. Sehun nudged Ilhoon with his elbow, trying his best to encourage his partner to agree. Ilhoon apparently didn’t need it.

                “Yeah, that’s fine.” Before Sehun could catch up with his favorite barista, which was a less appealing title than you might think considering there was only one other barista Sehun knew, and that guy was a total assface, some guy in a suit and sunglasses came in and made a beeline for them. He probably didn’t get the memo you don’t need sunglasses indoors.

                “You Ilhoon?” Not great with words either. Sehun could tell this guy’s clipped tone bothered Ilhoon, but they both kept their mouths shut. Ilhoon nodded and led them to a table in the corner, out of earshot. Sehun was positive Xiumin had heard more than they were going to talk about, considering the new coffee machine he was probably involved in similar shit. He had to remember, caution first.

                “Going up against SKL?” Ilhoon pulled a notebook from his messenger bag and got his pen ready. He looked like a kid in school going to tutoring. Not the Sehun was familiar with tutors, but he’d seen enough in tv shows.

                “What can you tell us?” They guy leaned back against his chair and slouched forward, trying for casual but coming across as an egotistical prick who had them right where he wanted them.

                “I can do you one better.”

                “Oh?”

                “Yeah, I can put a guy in with the SKL personnel, he can work for you.” Ilhoon was gripping the pen in his hand so hard his fingers were turning white. Sehun got the feeling Ilhoon had been in similar situations before but he wasn’t entirely sure what this situation was.

                “What do you want?”

                “I have some rivals, a mercenary group over in Yeoncheon. They’re sloppy and reckless and taking a lot of our business.” There was a pause, and Ilhoon set the pen down with a click so loud you’d think he was cocking a gun.

                “What does that have to do with me?” Him? Sehun knew Ilhoon used that word specifically. He knew what this guy wanted already and it wasn’t something the gang could give him.

                “This group, they sure like their medicine. I hear you’re the pharmacist. How about you get me a shipment that’s a little stronger than usual huh? Maybe it’s got an extra kick?”

                “You want me to kill an entire mercenary group in exchange for one plant?” The guy pulled his sunglasses off and checked Xiumin’s location. Xiumin was obliviously making drinks, Sehun figured he probably heard, it was quiet as a damn grave in here, but Xiumin wasn’t a snitch.

                “I didn’t say kill.”

                “You implied kill, and I have a reputation. I can’t just have my drugs killing a bunch of people.” The guy rubbed his eyes. He must have thought this would be a lot easier than Ilhoon was making it.

                “How about this? I’ll pay you for the drugs on top of the plant. Don’t make it lethal, just make it strong enough that they’re nodding.” The Miracle Cure had most people out of commission for a few days already, what this guy was asking for would have them shaking hands with the reaper even if it wasn’t outright lethal. Sehun wanted to tell Ilhoon not to accept, that money wasn’t worth all of these lives, but he couldn’t. He wanted this and he didn’t know them, to him they were just assholes being killed by more assholes.

                Xiumin chose this moment to bring them their coffee and Sehun swore he saw glowing light and angel wings.

                “Americano, half coffee half sugar, and plain black for you Sehunnie. Did you want anything sir?” The guy didn’t answer, just waved a hand dismissively and slipped his glasses back on. Xiumin may have only given them a minute, but it was enough for Ilhoon.

                “You pay double for the drugs, you make yourself available if we need you again, and we have a deal.”

                “A favor?”

“We’ll pay you for that favor when the time comes.”

“Fine, deal.” They guy slid a small slip of paper across the table and disappeared in a hurry. When Sehun looked from the door back to Ilhoon he was staring at the paper with an unreadable expression.

                “What’s on it?” Ilhoon passed it over and grabbed his coffee. Sehun couldn’t tell if he was drinking it or holding it for comfort. The paper just had an amount and a drop location.

                “He’s going to kill all those mercenaries even if the drugs don’t.” Sehun’s breath caught in his throat.

                “He wants them to nod off so they can’t fight back.”

                “And you agreed?” Ilhoon scratched a mark into his paper cup idly. Sehun couldn’t figure out his own feelings, he wasn’t angry that Ilhoon agreed. He wasn’t upset those mercenaries were going to die. It felt like… it was just a fact and nothing else. What bothered him more was Ilhoon tip-toeing around his feelings.

                “It’s a dog eat dog world right?” Sehun remembered all the things people said about Ilhoon and Joo, about how uncaring and unfeeling they were, how they were wolves and they saw everyone else as rabbits. He saw it first hand now. But still, he got it, through and through. Those mercenaries would probably die anyway, if it wasn’t in a doped up bloodbath it would be in a turf war that raged on for months, if not years. Why did it matter if they helped things along?

                He had never been an accessory to outright murder though. He could rationalize it all he wanted, it still made his skin squirm on his body. He was going to play a part in the massacre of a group of mercenaries even if he wasn’t the one pulling the trigger.

                “You can back out now. It’s not too late for us to find someone else.” It was nice of Ilhoon to give him an out, but Sehun knew what he wanted.

                “No.” Ilhoon tried to smile at him over the coffee, but it was far-off and didn’t reach his eyes. This person in front of Sehun was ruthless, but Sehun could feel the loyalty and affection of someone who trusted people close to him. Ilhoon showed his appreciation by leaning closer to Sehun and bumping their shoulders together in a silent thank you.

                 Ilhoon hadn’t asked Sehun to help him, but Sehun didn’t have much else to do. He was anxious waiting, he wanted to be more involved. This time when he showed up at Ilhoon’s apartment Ilhoon himself opened the door, wearing a t-shirt and ratty jeans covered in… paint maybe? He stepped to the side to let Sehun in. Ah, there was that chemical smell. It clearly didn’t bother the thug-of-the-day who was snoring loudly on the black leather couch.

                “You’re going to wear that?” Sehun looked down at his own outfit, a gold leather jacket and black pants that made his ass look great. He wasn’t trying to impress anyone, honest, this just happened to be what he threw on this morning.

                “You realize we’re working with volatile chemicals, right?” Sehun shrugged off his jacket and threw it on the nearest chair, following Ilhoon to a room down a long hallway.

                “You mean you’re working with volatile chemicals while I keep you company and pretend to help.” And yeah, as soon as they entered the lab it was even more obvious to Sehun that he had no fucking idea what he was doing here or how he could be anything but in the way. The chemicals were sorted against one wall, and what looked like stills stood in the middle of the room, looking intimidating.

                “You can fetch right?” Ilhoon went right to work, Sehun hovering over his shoulder from what he prayed to any god that existed was a safe distance.

                “So is this what you do all day? Cook up drugs?”

                “Not all day. I have hobbies you know.” Sehun let himself get comfortable in a chair by the door. Ilhoon would probably have him on his feet for something the second he was settled, but whatever. He couldn’t just hover without feeling weird. Weirder.

                “Hobbies besides crime?” Sehun laughed to himself, pulling at a stray thread on his pants, “I like video games myself.” There was the clinking of glass and Ilhoon hummed low in his throat, probably to express his interest in what Sehun was saying.

                “I play with some other guys probably once a week, they live in Ilsan so…” So they’re aren’t privy to his lifestyle, they don’t know anything about the slums and the prostitutes and the stealing. They liked to chat about girls from the university and cute dates they were taking them on. Sehun liked to pretend he knew what that was like.

                “I like reading. Grab me that bottle, the second one from the end on the top.” Sehun did as he was told.

                “Reading huh?” It suited Ilhoon. He seemed smart, Sehun knew he didn’t go to the ‘school’ in the slums. Ilhoon smirked at him and took the offered bottle.

                “You should try it sometime.” Normally a dig at his intelligence would make him bristle, put him on the defensive. So the fuck what if grew up poor, couldn’t afford the best education, it wasn’t his fault, and he wasn’t stupid. So many people looked down on him the second they found out where he was from. It was probably why the slums were their own insular community, they may treat each other like shit sometimes but they didn’t pity each other, think anyone was less than the other based on circumstance. But Ilhoon was from here too, and Sehun got the feeling he didn’t interact with many people outside of insulting banter.

                “How do you know I can read? Maybe I never learned.” Ilhoon let out a dark snort.

                “Please, I know people at that school can read. They’re always waxing poetic like Shakespeare about my damn prices.” Sehun went back to his chair and busied himself on his phone.

                “Everyone wants a discount on their happy trip to hell, right?” Ilhoon stopped what he was doing to appraise Sehun, brows knit together in frustration. What the hell had Sehun said now? It was like digging for damn land mines with criminals sometimes. Maybe the fumes were getting to them.

                “You think we’re the devil don’t you? Joo and I.” It was a question, but the way Ilhoon said it told Sehun he already knew the answer, had probably heard it a million times before. Sehun wanted to say he didn’t but he also didn’t want to lie to his new… partner in crime?

                “Who doesn’t?” Ilhoon turned back to his work.

                “No one. Put this bottle back and grab me the one below it, would you?” Ilhoon was asking him to do it? That’s a first. The shock was almost enough to distract Sehun from the idea that everyone hated Ilhoon and Ilhoon knew it. It didn’t sit well with him, Ilhoon wasn’t that bad, not in person.

                “Look,” Ilhoon didn’t, he just kept working, his focus completely on whatever he was doing, “you aren’t that bad.” Sehun put the brown glass bottle of… OAICVXFJPJFONN-UHFFFAOYSA-N. Well. Okay. Into Ilhoon’s hand, holding on until Ilhoon looked him in the eye.

                “We’re all bad people, Ilhoon. You just aren’t as bad as people say.” Ilhoon half smiled.

                “You’re exactly as bad as Luna said.” Before Sehun could ask exactly what Ilhoon meant by that there was a loud, intentional cough from the door. Thug-of-the-day had woken up and clearly wasn’t happy about Sehun and Ilhoon’s hand holding. Sehun had half a mind to tell the guy to fuck off and mind his own business, but Ilhoon seemed content to pull away. Well, not content so much as resigned. How did Ilhoon put up with this shit everyday? He wasn’t allowed to touch people in his own damn house? Sehun wasn’t sure how much time had passed. He was listening to the gentle ring of glass on glass and bubbling of liquid, trying to go through and sort the notes Ilhoon had taken about their escape routes when his brother called.

                “What, hyung? I’m busy.” Busy enough anyway. His brother didn’t need to know he was mostly just laying around.

                “I need you to go get some money a guy owes us, two hundred thousand won.” No preamble then, and don’t think Sehun didn’t notice the money was suddenly owed to ‘us’ and not just his brother. Usually his brother treated the money like he was the hard working father and he had to dole out an allowance to his bratty son Sehun.

                “Why do you need me to do it?”

                “I have other things I’m doing right now. Look, this guy beat on Luna and then ran off.” Sehun hated himself for the next thing he was going to ask. He really really did.

                “Why didn’t she get the money first?”

                “This guy is usually a good customer and you know how Luna is, too trusting.” Sehun sighed. Luna was too trusting, but she was also his favorite and she didn’t deserve to be hit. His brother knew that and knew Sehun would go get the stupid fucking money.

                “Where is he?”

                “Someone saw him at that bar down the alley off Yeolgil. He’s a greasy looking motherfucker, short and stocky.” Sehun knew who this guy was, he was one of Luna’s regulars. Weird that he would turn rough now.

                “I’ll take care of it as soon as I’m done here.”

                “He’s drinking so he’ll be a while, but don’t fuck around too much.” Sehun hung up before his brother could say anything else. Running errands for his brother was the last thing Sehun wanted to do today, and that included cooking drugs.

                “I have to go help out my brother, some dick hit Luna.” Ilhoon was carefully picking through some crystal stuff on a filter and didn’t spare him a glance.

                “I’ll go with you, I could use a break. Hand me that white bottle on the end.” It was one of the smaller bottles and it contained… C22H28N2O. Couldn’t Ilhoon label these more clearly? How did he keep all of this shit straight? Ilhoon used whatever powder C22H28N2O was and mixed it with a small amount of powder from his filter.

                “This looks fine right? Hmm… I think I have enough.” He was mumbling to himself as he examined his final product, something about the amount he would need, the ratio and how he wished he could test it. When he was focused he was really focused. Sehun snapped his fingers in front of Ilhoon’s face.

                “Ready to go?”

                “Oh yeah, yeah.” They almost made it to the door when the resident thug stopped Ilhoon with a large hand to the chest. God, Ilhoon looked small with this guy looming over him. Sehun figured he probably looked like a stick figure too in comparison to beef boy over there, but at least he had his height and muscle, some muscle. He was fit. Ilhoon didn’t let this guy intimidate him though, he was glaring, hard.

                “What?” Ouch, the word was so sharp it was like a dagger.

                “Where are you going?” Ilhoon shoved the thugs hand off of him, surprisingly the thug stepped back.

                “I’m going out to take care of some business.” Ilhoon didn’t wait for a reply, he pushed past Sehun and out the door. Sehun wasn’t so lucky, the hefty hand that caught his wrist had a grip so tight it stopped Sehun in his tracks.

                “You be careful, pretty boy. Don’t fuck around with what doesn’t belong to you.” Sehun jerked his arm free, flipped him off, and followed Ilhoon. Damn, now he knew why Ilhoon did it the first time Sehun visited. These doormen needed a good flipping off. And it may have been a threat, but it only made Sehun want to fuck around with Ilhoon even more, not sexually, definitely not sexually. Maybe a little sexually, just a bit, maybe like a blowjob? Holy shit he needed to stop this train of thought before it went way off the rails. But Ilhoon was a person, and Sehun wanted to show the boss that he didn’t belong to anyone. He got the impression Ilhoon wanted to do the same thing.


	6. 오발탄

               The bar smelled a lot like old beer and a little bit like piss. It was still preferable to that damn chemical smell Sehun had spent all day stewing in. The man he was looking for was draped over the bar, drunk, wearing a leather jacket that was new and too small for him. Sehun could feel Ilhoon behind him fidget, the other lowlifes were clearly sizing them up from behind shots of soju and cheap cigarettes. Sehun sat next to this asshole, back to the bar, arms resting in old peanut shells and pieces of dried squid. He was trying to look as casual and unassuming as possible while still facing the crowd.

               “You owe me some money.” The guy laughed into his beer and gulped down half the bottle.

               “Oh yeah? You and that fucking whore huh?” Sehun felt himself tense, saw it on Ilhoon too. He really did try not to glare at this dickhead, but he wasn’t very successful.

               “Yeah, you fuck her you pay her. That’s how it works.” He seemed happy to ignore Sehun, clearly not seeing the younger man as a threat. Fuck him. Sehun stood and leaned over his shoulder, keeping his voice low and dangerous.

               “We don’t need trouble, right? Either of us?” He looked between Sehun and Ilhoon and shook his head. Okay, Sehun could give him that. Ilhoon looked like he would be about as much help in a fight as a wet kitten with his skinny arms in that oversized shirt. It didn’t help that Ilhoon was glancing nervously between the other patrons.

               “You think you can bring the boss’ little pet here and intimidate me? The boss can suck my dick! All of his little workers can suck my dick!” He laughed bitterly between his words, “that whore can suck my dick!” So he had a bone to pick with the boss, he didn’t have to take it out on the lowest rungs of the damn economic ladder.

               “Look man, just give us the money, you can clearly afford it.” Sehun straightened a wrinkle in the new leather to help make his point. The guy jerked away, unhappy about Sehun’s touch.

               “I don’t need to listen to the fucking ‘boss’ anymore. There are better people to listen to.” Sehun was not expecting the chair across his back. Motherfucker that hurt. It took his breath away but he managed to stay upright, which was the perfect position to get punched right in his damn eye by the bastard he was trying to get money from. The same bastard who leapt onto Sehun, knocking him backwards into a wooden stool that collapsed under their weight, and pulled his arm back to punch Sehun again while he was down. Sehun was _really_ not expecting Ilhoon to grab that arm and pull the guy away. Ilhoon got a hit in before chair guy decided to spin him around and punch him in the mouth.

               Ilhoon staggered back, but Sehun smashed a beer bottle across the head of chair guy, effectively taking him out of commission. Damn straight. Too bad shady smoker the first and shady smoker the second were advancing on them and dickhead money-ower was still against the bar behind them where Ilhoon had shoved him. Sehun really needed to think of better monikers, but he was in a fight so what could you do? The first shady smoker tried to swing, but Sehun managed to duck and hit him in the gut instead. Next to him the second shady smoker had Ilhoon by the shirt collar but Ilhoon seemed perfectly fine kneeing him in the dick. Low blow, but it distracted him long enough that Ilhoon could get a hit in to the guy’s temple. One more down.

               The first shady smoker had regained his sense and used Sehun’s distraction to land a hard hit to his jaw. All things considered Sehun was just glad he hadn’t taken one to the nose yet. He seriously did not need to be crying right now. Too bad Ilhoon wasn’t so lucky, money-ower had got him straight in the nose as soon as shady smoker two went down. Why wasn’t Ilhoon crying? How many times has been hit in the fucking nose?

               And there was the second hit to his jaw. Sehun needed to stop getting distracted. He stumbled over but caught himself on the bar. The ceramic ashtray his hand landed on still had a lit cigarette in it that burned like damn lava on his palm, but it was heavy and when he cracked shady smoker one in the head with it he heard the tell-tale crunch of someone who was one hundred percent going to have a concussion when he woke up. Only one left.

               The one who had managed to get his fat fingers around Ilhoon’s neck. Sehun yanked him back by the collar of that ludicrous leather jacket and punched him in the head, it only took two hits before he was on the ground, groaning with his new little gang. Ilhoon was bleeding from the lip where it was split and rubbing his neck.

               “You okay?” Ilhoon nodded and kicked the asshole they came here for while he was down.

               “Dick.” Sehun knelt next to him and pulled out his wallet. It was garbage, worn fake leather, and didn’t match his new jacket in the slightest. So he hadn’t come in to that much money, he still had four hundred thousand won on him. Sehun took it all, tossing the wallet on the ground next to its owner.

               “Let’s get out of here.” Sehun dropped some bills on the bar for the trouble. Someone in this hell hole had to be a decent person. Once they were settled back into the car Sehun flipped down the visor to check out his own damage. Well, he was definitely going to have a black eye, and his hand hurt where it was burned, but it wasn’t that bad and otherwise he seemed fine.

               “Want to come back to my place and get some ice?” He said it without really thinking.

               “Yeah, that would be great. I’m not looking forward to seeing my guard dogs right now anyway.” Oh yeah, Ilhoon’s constant vigil that apparently lived at his house and turned it into something that was closer to a prison than a home.

               Not that Sehun’s place was much better. It was an expensive, top-floor three bedroom, rare for the slums, but he shared it with his brother and six women. One of the bedrooms was used exclusively for business so it was basically a two bedroom that eight fucking people lived in. Whatever, Ilhoon seemed happy to be there.

               Sehun led them to the kitchen and went to hand Ilhoon a bag of frozen… eh…

               “Fish cakes or naeng myun broth?” Ilhoon took the fish cakes and rolled his eyes.

               “The broth will fit better in your eye.” Before Ilhoon could put the fishcakes on his mouth Sehun grabbed it back, holding out of Ilhoon’s reach when he grasped at it. Ha. Ilhoon was a shorty. He was enjoying keep-away way too much for someone who was well out of middle school.

               “Are you an animal? Wash the blood off first.” Ilhoon put his fingers to his mouth gently like he had completely forgotten about the blood. Sehun pulled his hand away. Ilhoon was supposed to be the educated one, not the one who was sticking filthy, bacteria covered fingers in his wounds.

               “Seriously? Here.” Sehun grabbed a towel from the drawer next to the sink and wet a corner of it, handing it over to Ilhoon. He washed his burn while Ilhoon took care of his mouth. It was already starting to blister and Sehun wanted to whine like a baby about how tender it was. He wouldn’t though. Eh, maybe to one of the girls. But not to Ilhoon.

               “Want to watch a movie or something?” To kill time before the warden comes to look for you was implied.

               “Yeah, sure. Let’s see what’s on.” Ilhoon flopped on to the couch, ice pack to his cleaned mouth, making himself at home without any real invitation to do so. Sehun couldn’t decide if it was endearing or annoying, he got that feeling a lot around Ilhoon. He filed it away under ‘feelings to address later’ and settled on the couch next to the other man, flipping through channels until he settled on some movie in black and white.

               They watched in silence for most of it. Sehun felt his throat tighten as one of the characters found out his lover had been murdered, thrown off a building by a neighbor whose advances she had been rejecting. Okay, enough of this sad shit, they needed something that was a little more light hearted. Social realism was not his fucking cup of tea. For someone living in the slums it was too, well, real. Before Sehun could change the channel Ilhoon spoke up.

               “I’m not his pet, you know.” Sehun turned, but Ilhoon was staring at the rug like he was trying to light it on fire with his mind.

               “What?”

               “What that guy said in the bar, I’m not the boss’ pet.” Sehun had completely forgotten about that. He wasn’t one to take what guys like that said to heart, but he didn’t have people constantly accusing him of being a whore or an animal.

               “I know.” And he did, you didn’t have to know Ilhoon for more than an hour to see he didn’t like the boss at all, hate didn’t even seem to be a strong enough word. Ilhoon’s face scrunched in annoyance or contemplation.

               “I just mean…” He groaned in exasperation and leaned back into the couch, folding his arms across his eyes to cover them. “I just mean I don’t let him fuck me.” If Sehun had been drinking something he would have choked on it in shock. He didn’t want to bring it up but he had always kind of assumed… he guessed a lot of people assumed.

               “I didn’t think ‘let’ really played a part in it.” Sehun grumbled darkly, surprised at how much his own words tasted in his mouth, like anger and ash and burnt coffee. The boss was more the taking type, others be damned. Ilhoon shifted so he was facing Sehun, deliberate but vulnerable.

               “Well… It does.” Ilhoon broke his gaze and found something very interesting in the floral design of Sehun’s couch, tracing delicate fingers across the rough, polyester petals. Sehun hesitated before asking, he probably shouldn’t push when Ilhoon was opening up on his own, but in the end he couldn’t help himself.

               “…Why? He doesn’t seem like the type to ask nicely.” Ilhoon snorted, amused.

               “I wouldn’t call it ‘asking nicely’.” There was a brief minute of silence. The character on the screen was running under some building, past a woman who had hung herself, baby still strapped crying and begging on her back. Jesus Christ this was terrible background noise.

               “I think there are two reasons he doesn’t just…” Ilhoon made some gesture in the air and threw his ice pack onto the table, clearly uncomfortable with the words he wanted to say, “just take what he wants from me.” Sehun would have called it rape, but that felt more serious than ‘take what he wants’ and he got the feeling Ilhoon was trying his very best not to go down that road.

               “He wants me to,” Ilhoon used air quotes to emphasize “actively participate and not lay there struggling,” as if he has heard those exact words enough times from the boss to have them memorized.

               “And I think he knows there’s only so far he can push Joo and I before we stop making drugs for him. I may have a great ass, but it’s not worth billions of won.”

               “Hm, I don’t know. I’d say it’s worth 2 billion at least.” Sehun chastised himself because really? This is the time he picks to be flirty? What the fuck was wrong with him? Ilhoon seemed into it though, he laughed at Sehun’s comment and some of the tension in his body eased.

               “I always thought you’d be more of a tits guy.”

               “I’m an ass-man all the way.”

               “I should have guessed, considering the jeans you’re always wearing.” Sehun clutched at fake pearls and drew in an exaggerated breath.

               “Well Jung Ilhoon, have you been checking out my butt?” Ilhoon flushed but shoved at Sehun’s shoulder playfully.

               “Oh Sehun!” He imitated Sehun and it was fairly spot on. “Didn’t you want me to?”

               “Oh yeah,” his tone was gritty and deep and it felt a lot less like playing around, “and you can check out more than my ass if you want to.” Ilhoon glanced down at Sehun’s dick, just for a fraction of a second, and flushed so red Sehun was worried he might pass out. That wasn’t exactly what Sehun had meant, but it still had him smirking. Of course, Luna chose that moment to barge in, not bothering to read the damn room.

               “Hey, Sehunnie!” She paused when she looked up from her cracked phone and saw Ilhoon. “And Ilhoonie… am I interrupting something?” Okay, so maybe she could read the room better than Sehun gave her credit for. Ilhoon shot up like the couch was electrified.

               “Uh, no. I should probably head out anyway.” He gave Luna an awkward one armed hug that didn’t seem to phase her. So they knew each other well enough for awkward hugs?

               “Oh, okay.” The second Ilhoon was out the door Luna crumpled into his vacant spot. She stared at Sehun with amusement so intense he felt it all the way to his soul.

               “What?” He snapped at her and she probably didn’t deserve it, but he couldn’t just sit there and look at her while she was looking at him like that.

               “You liiiiiiiiike him.” She teased, drawing out her words like a five year old. Sehun figured two could play at that game and crossed his arms over his chest in a huff.

               “I do not!” Luna cackled and shoved him over into the arm of the couch.

               “You so do,” she pulled her legs up underneath her, assuming the position of someone ready to settle in for a session of hot gossip. “C’mon, tell me about the crush you have.” Sehun didn’t answer, choosing to pout and pay way too much attention to the end of this horrible fucking movie. Ah, bleeding from the mouth and drunken screaming, much more palatable than Luna. She started poking him with long, jewel studded nails. When did she get those done?

               “Come on Sehunnie. I have to know! He’s attractive right?”

               “If you find that sort of look attractive.”

               “Which you do.” Sehun glared hard at the screen, refusing to meet her eyes. Partly out of stubbornness but also because, yeah, Ilhoon was attractive and he knew the second their eyes met Luna would read him like a book. He seriously did not need her knowing just how many times he thought about Ilhoon’s mouth on his dick. Not that he wouldn’t reciprocate. He was one hundred percent for equal division of blowjobs.

               “What are you thinking about, eh Sehunnie?” Sehun flushed even more and finally looked over to his tormenter. She was smirking at him knowingly, waiting. Once she felt he was sufficiently embarrassed and awkward she stretched out on the couch, resting fluffy sock covered feet in his lap.

               “You should go for it.” Sehun rubbed her feet absently and watched the credits. Maybe if Ilhoon was a girl, wasn’t tied to his current job, wasn’t… surprisingly the boss part didn’t bother him as much as it should have. The boss could go fuck himself.

               “You should kiiiiss hiiiiim.” Luna sing-songed and made kissy faces at him.

               “Who the fuck is Sehun kissing?” Ah, another member of the ‘pry-into-Sehun’s-private-life’ brigade had arrived. His brother dropped some dark plastic bags by the front door as he entered. His face conveyed his usual sour, bitchy mood.

               “You better not be bringing any of that gay shit into this house.” Was he suddenly Sehun’s father? Luna rolled her eyes so hard it was enough for both of them but made room for his brother on the couch anyway.

               “Don’t listen to your brother, he’s a jackass of the highest caliber.” His brother pushed her closer to Sehun and she retaliated by punching him too hard in the arm. Sehun was ready for this conversation to be over.

               “Ilhoon is adorable and smart and you should one hundred percent kiss his face off.” His brother really didn’t like that. He looked like Luna had shoved a lemon in his mouth.

               “Ilhoon? Seriously?” He shook his head in disbelief. “You couldn’t afford him even if you wanted him.”

               “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” It was out of Sehun’s mouth before he even registered the words. He wasn’t one to have a temper, but his nerves were frayed, he was beat up, and he was tired. Also fuck his brother.

               “You’ve heard what kind of expensive shit he gets from the boss, you know he earns that on his back.” Luna snatched the remote out of his brother’s hand, clearly deciding he didn’t deserve tv privileges after that. Sehun agreed. His fingers were turning white where he was crushing his makeshift ice-pack, trying his best to control the fluttering of fury in his chest.

               “He does not! Don’t be such a fucking asshole.” Luna scolded him and his brother had the nerve to shrug nonchalantly. Sehun felt insulted for Luna and her profession but she took it in stride. His brother clearly didn’t have a problem with people ‘earning on their back’. The problem was that Ilhoon was a guy who was supposedly letting another guy fuck him.

               “Whatever, you aren’t going to risk that job just so some brat will jump on your dick.” Sehun was waiting for his brother to add an “are you?” but he knew his brother wasn’t really asking. This job would mean money for more than just Sehun. As much as it hurt him to admit what every younger sibling dreads, his brother was right. He couldn’t risk the job, not for some fling with a cute guy.

               “Can we stop talking about this? Nothing is going to happen.” His brother seemed happy about it, Luna seemed the opposite. There was no pleasing everyone.

               It had only been two days when Hyuna called them together again. Sehun tried not to be obvious when he noticed Ilhoon wasn’t there. The conversation with Luna and his brother had thrown him off his game. It was killing him not to ask where their other team member was though, especially when Hyuna and E’dawn took the couch and he was relegated to the floor alone.

               “How are the escape routes coming?” Hyuna seemed more than happy to start without Ilhoon. Sehun worried at the worn corners of Ilhoon’s notebooks, or he guessed they were his notebooks now. He wasn’t sure what would be best, what way would be the least risky or have the least traffic, he needed more. He didn’t realize the apprehensive silence until one of the corners tore and drew him out of his thoughts, but regardless Hyuna was waiting patiently for him to figure out what to say.

               “I don’t know. There’s still a lot I’m not sure about. It would be better if I had more information.” E’dawn smiled and Sehun felt like the sun was shining down on him.

               “Well, then I have some good news for you.” He handed Sehun a thick packet of papers with ID numbers, times, and dates. It wasn’t organized as well as Sehun might have liked, but he wasn’t going to be nit-picky if this was what he thought it was.

               “Police patrols.” E’dawn clarified. So it was what he thought it was. This would take a while to read through, and it would be more helpful when they could narrow down an actual date for the heist, but Sehun could work with this. He could get a solid idea of patrol times and locations at least.

               “You and Ilhoon can go out and drive around again too, just don’t draw attention and use a different car.” Hyuna was probably the most cautious person Sehun had ever met, but hey, if she was going to rob high-end banks and hold their lives in her hands she could be as judicious as she wanted.

               “Yeah, we will. I’d like to be as familiar with the area as possible.” Now it was Sehun’s turn to agree for Ilhoon. He couldn’t wait to rub it in his face and also not think about how they were making decisions for each other like it was a normal part of their lives.

               Speak of the devil. Ilhoon didn’t knock, he just burst through the door with a happy energy Sehun didn’t know anyone in the slums could manage. He immediately collapsed next to Sehun and he was practically vibrating. It was best just to ignore it, there was no time for banter, only serious business. E’dawn was watching Ilhoon with a delighted and perplexed grin but Hyuna was on the same page as Sehun.

               “You and Sehun are going to have to scout the routes a little more, he needs more information.” She went right back to business like  Ilhoon hadn’t disrupted her at all. Ilhoon just nodded his agreement as if that was something they were obviously going to do and he didn’t need to be told.

               “We also need more information on the security system they’re upgrading to. We’ve made a little headway but not enough.”

               “We have at least a month before SKL starts as the security team, and we should have a plant if your contact holds up his end of the bargain.” Ilhoon had an easier time talking to Hyuna than either Sehun or E’dawn, which Sehun thought was weird because E’dawn and Hyuna were clearly dating. Whatever, it probably had to do with experience in the group or something and he wasn’t here to judge.

               “He will.” She stared Ilhoon down but he didn’t argue, didn’t even say anything else about the deal.

               “So overall we’re making incredibly slow progress?” E’dawn to the rescue, here to save himself and Sehun from the tension created by Ilhoon and Hyuna and their pissing contest about who to trust and when! The man could be a superhero if he wasn’t, you know, so into crime. Hyuna sighed and ran bright red nails through the ends of her hair.

               “Yeah, but we don’t have to hurry so it shouldn’t be a problem.” Slow and steady, right? Ilhoon evidently hadn’t gotten the message, he was impatiently fidgeting so much that Sehun couldn’t block it out.

               “You’ve been here for five minutes. What the hell is wrong with you?” Ilhoon smiled an impish, dangerous smile at him that screamed trouble.

               “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Sehun rested an elbow on the coffee table and turned his attention away from the two on the couch.

               “I asked didn’t I?” Ilhoon shrugged and looked away, focusing on some scratch in the shape of a heart. He was trying to appear apathetic but the playful grin still tugged at the corners of his mouth.

               “Yeah, but did you really want to know?” Sehun sighed for a thousand years and pretended to be irritated. Truth was he thought it was fun, the back and forth, but he wouldn’t tell anyone else that.

               “Please your highness, grace your simple servants with the knowledge of what has you fidgeting like a damn mouse on Adderall.”  Ilhoon hummed thoughtfully and leaned back on his arms, his shirt riding up just enough to show a sliver of his slim hip. Not that Sehun was paying attention to that. E’dawn cleared his throat and Sehun snapped his eyes up. E’dawn and Hyuna were both watching them with entertained fascination. Sehun was starting to hate that look. Ilhoon was either ignoring them or he wasn’t bothered by it.

               “I have a surprise for you.” Sehun wasn’t sure he’d heard right. Ilhoon’s eyes were glittering and happy and it took his breath away a little, only a little. Ilhoon was just so fucking excited and it was kind of contagious.

               “For me?” Sehun didn’t mean to sound shocked and skeptical, but what was this surprise and in what way would it fuck up his life? Ilhoon dangled keys in front of his face, way too close. The first thing Sehun noticed was the small golden bull keychain, the second was the lack of actual keys, instead it was a just a fob. He felt a jolt of Ilhoon’s excitement through his whole body, one which he tried his best to tamp down and contain.

               “What is this?” Annoyed that Sehun wasn’t taking the keys, Ilhoon placed them in Sehun’s hand himself, closing Sehun’s fingers around the keys with more force than was necessary. He still had a burn on that hand, dammit.

               “It’s not like you can use your own car for the heist. You can use this one, you can even have it…” There was a but coming, Sehun could feel it.

               “But you have to pay for it.” This was a fucking rollercoaster. He couldn’t afford this car, not until they robbed the bank, and then he wanted to pick out his own damn car. He was going to kill Ilhoon, right here, in front of everyone else. With the way Hyuna was glaring at Ilhoon like he was a 13 year old shit head bully she might even help. At the very least she’d help hide the body.

               “Don’t look at me like that. I already worked out how you’re going to pay for it without any extra money or effort.” Dear lord please let him off of this ride. He couldn’t take it, his heart couldn’t take it.

               “We’re going to Gwangju this weekend! There will be a big street racing… thing there and if you win you give the boss the money and you keep the car. Plus it will help you get familiar with the car in a high pressure setting before the heist.” Sehun full on hugged Ilhoon, tackled him to the floor and hugged the shit out of him. He barely struggled. Sehun seriously, passionately, loved street racing but there wasn’t a big scene here in Seoul, and he could have a free car? This was like Christmas and his birthday all stuffed into one big box made of money. There was just one thing.

               “Wait, we?” Sehun pulled himself off Ilhoon and Ilhoon beamed up at him from the floor.

               “Yeah! You didn’t think the boss would let you just take a car on your own right?” Sehun sat up, readjusting to his seat on the floor. If he was a little closer to Ilhoon than earlier it was purely an accident.

               “The question is why are you going with him? How the fuck did you manage that?” Shit, Sehun had almost forgotten about their audience. Hyuna had a point though, from what Sehun knew Ilhoon was usually checked up on and watched at all times.

               “I told him if he didn’t let me go I would turn myself in for cooking drugs.” E’dawn tensed but Hyuna laughed it off.

               “That’s quite the bluff.” All of the earlier mirth dropped off Ilhoon’s face in an instant and Sehun would swear on his mother’s grave, if the bitch was dead, that the room got colder.

               “It wasn’t a bluff. In prison here or there what the fuck does it matter?” It felt like everyone wanted to say something comforting, maybe deny that Ilhoon was imprisoned in his own life, but no one could bring themselves to do it. Sehun slung his arm around Ilhoon’s shoulders and pulled him closer.

               “Hey, cheer back up. We’re going to Gwangju.”


	7. Interlude: Luna

                These were nice sheets. They were satin or silk (was there a difference?) and black, or was it one of the colors that only existed to people with money? Obsidian, eternal midnight, eclipse of the devil’s soul maybe, something extravagant like that. Luna had shit brown sheets from a second-hand store that were scratchy on her skin while she slept. These sheets felt soft and welcoming under her fingertips. It was almost enough to distract her from the Boss pounding into her from behind.

                She like it best this way, hated it when someone wanted her to be on her back so they could look down at her with distant, horny eyes and pretend she cared about them, hated their breath on her neck and their body laying on top of hers. At least this way she didn’t have to do much besides moan when she thought she should.

                Truthfully, she almost felt worse for the kid sitting cross-legged in front of her. Some nondescript thug was standing behind him, holding his wrists to his back in one hand, using the other to grip the kid’s hair at the root and force his face up to the Boss. She tried her best to look away, partly because it felt polite, if there was such a thing as polite is this fucked up situation, and partly because his eyes were so full of anger and hatred it made her heart stop.

                The Boss didn’t seemed bothered by it, he just kept on mumbling dirty words with abandon.

                “I could fuck you like this, make you cum so hard you wouldn’t even have to touch yourself.” To his credit, the kid didn’t even flinch.

                “I’d have you begging for my cock, moaning under me like a whore.” She managed to drown out his voice after a while. It sucked for the kid, she doubted he had the same luxury. When it was over the Boss pushed her out of the way like an object and got dressed. She almost hated when they treated her like she was nothing, but she hated it more when they didn’t, when they leaned in to kiss her like they loved her, like the Boss was doing to that kid now.

                The kid spit at the Boss’ feet afterwards and the slap that followed was so loud she could feel it on her skin.

                “You can’t say no to me forever.”

                “Yes I can.” It was so full of bite you’d think this kid was a wolf. Too bad the Boss didn’t get the memo that coercion didn’t mean consent. The thug finally released his grip and shoved the kid a little harder than he should have, it earned him a seething glare from the boss. Apparently only one person was supposed to be hurting wolfy-kid.

                “Take that bitch home and get out of here.” Somewhere deep down inside, after everything, that stupid kid had the sense to roll his eyes. Thankfully he didn’t say no, she’d much rather he take her home than nameless thug number 2. He didn’t look big enough or jeweled enough to be thug one, but he had to be high ranking right?

                The kid even brought her a warm towel and clean clothes. He helped pack up her old clothes in some knock-off designer bag another girl had probably left behind while she got dressed. It was the most anyone had done for her afterwards since… since forever maybe. The silence may have been tense, but it was companionable, and lasted until they got to his car. It was sleek black and old enough to be stealthy in a crowd. Sehun’s car was way better but she wasn’t going to tell him that.

                “I’m sorry.” They weren’t the first words she was expecting, she wasn’t expecting them at all, ever, at any point in time. They were sincere and she let them sink in like a balm against her aching bones.

                “He’s not the worst I’ve ever had.” And she meant that. She let her fingers run across a bite scar on her inner thigh, she didn’t mean to garner sympathy but the kid’s eyes were quick and sharp against her. He was grinding his teeth so hard it made her own jaw hurt. For some reason nothing in the world was funnier to her than this moment and she laughed, just for a second, but it was deep and honest.

                “What?” She shook her head at his question and laughed for a second more at his surprise.

                “It’s just. You’re so honest you know? And angry about nothing for my sake.” The kid huffed a pissy breath but she saw the corners of his mouth tick up.

                “I’m sorry too, for what it’s worth.” The kid rubbed a hand against his mouth as if he could still feel the Boss there and shrugged, but it was the shrug of someone with a thousand pounds on their shoulders.

                “What’s your name anyway?”

                “Ilhoon.” Ah, Ilhoon, of Ilhoon and Joo. Her characterization of him as a wolf in her head had a whole new meaning now. She hadn’t heard good things, but it was too late, she liked him.

                “Luna.” Ilhoon hesitated for a moment, his fingers tapping awkwardly on the steering wheel as if he was trying to make an impossible decision. Suddenly he turned the car, it was sharp and her head thunked against the window.

                “Ow, damn.”

                “Sorry, just… let’s go get something to eat.” There was a beat. “I mean, would you like to go get something to eat?” She wanted to say yes, she hadn’t gone out to eat for ages. If you didn’t count fast food in between jobs, which she didn’t. It felt like she was out but she wasn’t out, you know? It was a work dinner. Besides, fast food was barely real food. Plain white rice was more real than fast food.

                “Look, I would like to but… This money isn’t mine you know? Most of it goes to my handler.”

                “I’ll pay. I get enough fancy shit to pawn from fuckface back there, might as well spend the money.” She mock saluted Ilhoon and he glanced over amused.

                “Aye aye captain, let’s spend these pilfered funds on soju and soondae.”

                At some hole in the wall down an alley they spent more money than she’d make in a week. She should feel guilty, but Ilhoon seemed delighted to spend the money he got from hawking some weird statue of a god with a diamond where the dick should be. He sold it for less than a tenth of what it was worth and he seem proud of that for whatever reason. It was fun, it was all fun, the eating, the drinking, the company.

                From what she’d heard on the streets Ilhoon and Joo were uncaring psychopaths who preyed on children and sold them the Miracle Cure dressed up as candy. She couldn’t imagine that now. When they got too full to eat another bite and so drunk they’d have to leave the car behind, they wandered down a few streets to what used to be an old gym.

                The windows were boarded up where they had been smashed and then draped in tattered blankets. The sign above the door was hand painted, but well done, ‘Silver Light Home for Wayward Children’ it read. She and Ilhoon just stared up at it for what seemed like ages in the autumn cold. The next thing she knew Ilhoon was pressing a wad of crumpled bills in her hand.

                “I don’t mean… I know that spending all night goofing off costs money too… I – I don’t mean that I had to pay you for your time…” She patted his cheek affectionately and stuffed the money in her bra.

                “No offense taken.” The rest of Ilhoon’s money was shoved through a mail slot on the old gym’s locked door. That lock was more a show of faith than anything else. The door rattled hollowly as Ilhoon shoved against it and it was clear one good kick would have it off its hinges. But she figured if you’re going to take in wayward kids in the slums you probably have some faith to spare.

                “Give me your phone.” Ilhoon looked up from the mail slot with furrowed brows but complied. He really shouldn’t be so trusting, but hey, he was stuffing a ton of money into the mail slot of a group home so she wasn’t going to complain. She entered her phone number, paused, waffled, and put Sehun’s number in too.

                “I heard about what happened to Ji-sung.” Ilhoon stood and brushed his knobby knees but didn’t respond, didn’t even meet her eyes.

                “I put my friend’s number in there, Sehun. He’s really skilled, too charming for his own good, but skilled.” Ilhoon accepted his phone back and ran his fingers over the touch screen absently, thinking about something she couldn’t guess.

                “I put mine in too. We should do this again.” She shoved him a little, playful, and it drew his attention back up to her.

                “Fuck, I’ll even pay for you next time. How do you feel about Ramen? If you want to be fancy we can have cheese.” Ilhoon smiled and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He held her gaze and it was powerful, but happy. It made her breath catch.

                “You should know, I’m very fancy. I’ll only say yes if there’s cheese and egg both.” She scoffed, turned on him and started the hike back to his car. When she didn’t hear footsteps behind her she called over her shoulder to him.

                “I’ll give you cheese and egg!” She heard him laugh and jog to catch up. Just for one night, for a few hours, their world seemed okay.


	8. Colpo di Fulmine

                When Sehun had seen the keys to a Lamborghini he had pictured something flashy, maybe golden or sun blaze orange, and looking like a neon light screaming ‘I’m compensating’. Really, he should have guessed something they were going to evade detection in would be more subtle than that, and he couldn’t say he was disappointed in a free Lamborghini. Besides, the plain black with black interior did nothing to hide what kind of car it was. It was low to the ground, upwards opening doors, and a sleek shape that turned heads. This car cost more than anything Sehun would ever consider paying.

                He had his suspicions that the only reason he was holding the keys to an Aventador SV was the person who had asked for it. He doubted very fucking much the boss just handed out half a million USD cars to anyone, but this wouldn’t be the first time Ilhoon had gotten expensive gifts, and he didn’t think for a second Ilhoon had been exaggerating when he said the Miracle Cure raked in billions of won for the boss. Seriously, all things considered he could kiss Ilhoon right now. Not that he would, it was just a saying, a turn of phrase, nothing that would be an actuality.

                “We can stop at your place and then head out.” Sehun wanted to snark back that he could also decide what they were doing but it wasn’t true. This car basically gave Ilhoon free reign to make all plans and decisions for the next ten years. He figured Ilhoon had a neatly written out itinerary for them anyway.

                Sehun slipped into the driver’s seat and he was embraced by God and King Sejong themselves. Or it was the expensive Italian leather, whatever, same thing. Ilhoon was smirking at him from the passenger seat like this was a trivial everyday thing for him, like he ate caviar with a whale bone spoon and pondered over the vintage of wines that had been aged way too long.

                “It’s nice right?” Sehun scoffed but Ilhoon’s smirk was fighting against a genuine smile. He probably ate triangle kimbap from the convenience store just like the rest of them.

                “Nice. It’s nice? That’s like saying the beaches of Thailand are just okay.” Ilhoon hummed an acknowledgement and played with the dash where a glove compartment should be, uninterested in whatever Sehun was going to say.

                “I drove it over so I know how nice it is.” Sehun doubted that. If Ilhoon’s car was anything to go by he didn’t care that much about them in general.

                “I don’t think you do. Driving a car like this is like taking a bubble bath with champagne instead of water while Cire Trudon candles burn and you stuff your face with gold flake truffles.” Sehun ran his hands over the steering wheel, getting a feel for it.

                “Do I need to get out so you can jerk off before we leave?”

                “And stain the interior before I even drive it? What kind of monster do you think I am?” Sehun started it and the sound almost made him rethink Ilhoon’s suggestion. Sehun could listen to a car with a good engine run for hours, it was the most comforting and exhilarating, paradoxical sound in the world. It was music, Mozart and Paganini, Queen and Elvis. Ilhoon’s soft laugh at his expense didn’t hurt the atmosphere either.

                If Sehun had any complaints about the new car, it was the single clutch status of the transmission. He liked the smooth transition of double clutch better. The jerk of single clutch was hard to get used to, but as they sped down the highway towards Gwangju he noticed less and less. He hadn’t put on music, content to listen to the engine sounds and the tires on the pavement, and Ilhoon hadn’t asked, happy to read a book with a plain cover next to him. The silence between them was calm, and Sehun let himself be mesmerized, hypnotized by the pull of the road.

                “We’re almost there right?” Ilhoon’s soft voice drew him out of his reverie and he glanced at the time. Had it really been two hours?

                “Yeah, less than an hour now. Bored already?” Sehun could probably drive this car in a straight line with nothing to look at for hours and hours on end, but Ilhoon was more of a… nerd? He meant that in the most affectionate way possible. Ilhoon was the type to plan meticulous details and experiment with chemistry.

                “I thought we should talk about the plan once we get there.” Speaking of meticulous details. Sehun hadn’t even thought about where in Gwangju they were going, just that they were going there.

                “We should go to the hotel first, we aren’t meeting with Kai until it gets dark and it’s only three now.” Sehun knew Kai. He was hot shit in the racing world, a hot mess everywhere else, but if you could make a serious name for yourself in street racing who cares about the rest of your life? They had only met up a few times, most of those times ended with them both so drunk they slept in a stranger’s car because it looked cool. That is not something that should happen more than once.

                “Is it a fancy hotel?”

                “The fanciest. You didn’t think we’d park this at a cheap motel did you?”

                “Maybe. We’d have to sleep in shifts and watch the car from the window.” Ilhoon laughed dryly at the image.

                “And what, run out in pajamas to fend off a roving pack of bandits?” Sehun’s laughter wasn’t nearly as dry. It was a hilarious thought to him, Ilhoon in a full matching set of pajamas, maybe with little bears on them, waving his fist at a fantastical, mad max style group of hooligans. The only problem was that this led to Sehun picturing Ilhoon in those pajamas in their fancy hotel room, sleepy and looking up at Sehun with bed-head. Why was he doing this to himself?

                “Maybe I don’t sleep in pajamas.” Sehun really needed to work on his filter. Why was he like this? It was like he couldn’t help himself. Ilhoon’s flushed cheeks and wide, surprised eyes were so worth it. Too bad it only took a few seconds for that face to morph in to one of exasperation.

                “I guess you’ll have to take on the bandits naked then.” Sehun shuddered at the thought. It wasn’t real. He wasn’t really going to fend off bandits with his dick out.

                “Besides, don’t you live with six other people? Do you sleep naked with everyone around?”

                “Seven, but six of them are prostitutes and they don’t care about nudity.” Truthfully he didn’t sleep naked because he shared a room with his brother. Sehun loved the guy. Well, he at least liked the guy, but he didn’t want to lay naked next to his brother every night, even if they had separate beds now.

                “You’re friends with Luna, you’ve seen her naked.” It was probably a weird statement but Sehun didn’t think Ilhoon would notice or care and it was killing him that he didn’t know about Luna and Ilhoon’s relationship. He had been close to Luna since he was fourteen, she was the only girl that stuck with his brother over the years, and she had not once mentioned Ilhoon. He could tell when Hyuna had brought up Luna’s name Ilhoon had shut down that conversation.

                “Yeah.” Ilhoon didn’t trail off, didn’t continue, didn’t leave any room for more questions. Fuck that.

                “Luna never talked about you.” Okay Ilhoon, it was your turn to fill in the why. Of course Ilhoon wasn’t going to obey Sehun’s inner monologue.

                “She talked about you.” Ilhoon turned to look over at him, resting his back against the window. If he was trying to distract Sehun it was totally working.

                “Good things I hope,” the next part came out a little more curious and self-conscious than Sehun would have liked. “What did she say?”

                “She said you were charming.” Damn right he was. He had charm for days. It never hurt to hear it from others though.

                “Was she right?” Ilhoon’s phone chimed a notification and he glanced down at it.

                “Less and less the more I know you. We have an exit coming up.” Sehun would have been more hurt at the jab if Ilhoon wasn’t smiling through it. Ilhoon was a dirty liar who lies and he definitely thought Sehun was charming.

                Getting checked in at the hotel, convincing the skeptical hotel clerk that they could in fact afford the place, bickering over who was going to carry the measly three bags they had between them, Ilhoon whining a little with an aegyo voice, Sehun caving and carrying the bags, bickering over who got which bed just for the sake of it even though it was obvious neither of them really cared, and Ilhoon caving and taking the one next to the window took a lot longer than one might expect. So long that when they were finished it was time to meet up with Kai.

                Kai who was grinning at them like a Cheshire cat. He wrapped Sehun up in a hug and Sehun couldn’t help but feel like he was seeing an old friend, which was fair, Kai was someone he saw maybe once a year if he was lucky.

                “Sehunnie! Where in the hell did you get this car?” Kai ran his fingertips over the hood like he was touching a mythical beast. Not that this was the best car here, a cursory glance told Sehun a lot of the racers where rich or working for someone powerful. Considering his own participation he was leaning towards the latter.

                “My lovely partner here got it for me.” Sehun threw an arm over Ilhoon’s shoulders and drug the smaller man against his side. Ilhoon shoved Sehun away and didn’t even pretend to be excited about the cars, didn’t even pretend to be listening.

                “You shouldn’t let your boyfriend buy your cars man, Taemin has that 918 that’s going to blow this one away.” Sehun was so torn. He wanted to correct Kai, Ilhoon was not nor would he ever be Sehun’s boyfriend, but also a 918, really? He couldn’t let that stand could he?

                “You think I’d lose to a battery pack? Besides, Taemin is all flash and no substance.”

                “Says the guy with the Aventador.” Sehun leaned back against the driver’s side door and gave Kai a once over. The pleased look on his face and easy posture told Sehun that Kai wasn’t worried about losing, even to Taemin and his 918. This wouldn’t be the first race that it came down to himself and Kai, but every other time had been for fun. This time he was racing for the Boss in Seoul. He couldn’t stop himself from tensing as he thought about it.

                “Don’t.” Ilhoon’s hand was somehow light and heavy on his shoulder, but he eased under the touch all the same. Kai seemed to think their interaction was perfectly normal, it didn’t even phase him. Kai also thought they were dating so what the hell does that say? Sehun had a million other car shaped things to think about right now.

                Including the hastily scribbled down directions of the course they would be racing. Ilhoon was staring down at Kai’s handwriting like he had written in Chinese. Sehun could make it out at least, even if he had no idea exactly where these roads were. Why hadn’t they come sooner to get a better idea of where the hell he was going? Ilhoon was supposed to be all about the details.

                “Good luck Sehun! See you after the race.” Kai waved at them casually as he walked away. Sehun only took his eyes off Ilhoon for a second to wave back but by the time he turned around Ilhoon had laid a large city map out over the hood. Talk about planning details, damn. Bright pink highlighter filled in what Sehun assumed were the roads he’d be taking. There were blue dots drawn in small clusters along to route.

                “What are these?”

                “Busy shops. Their peak hours are right now and I’m sure someone did that on purpose to fuck up unfamiliar drivers.” Kai may be in charge of who drives in the race, but he was definitely not in charge of the track. He didn’t have a malicious bone in his body and throwing people in front of speeding cars was a seriously shitty thing to do.

                Ilhoon waited quietly while Sehun studied the map until he had it memorized. It didn’t take long, he was good with roads. Ilhoon must have been counting on that because by the time he finished they didn’t have much time left before the race started.

                “Be careful, okay?” Sehun wasn’t sure if it was because Ilhoon didn’t want to lose another driver or because Ilhoon didn’t want to lose Sehun. He pulled Ilhoon into a hug and Ilhoon didn’t fight him.

                “We’ve been dating ten minutes and you’re already this worried about me? What are we going to do after the wedding?” Ilhoon didn’t find it as funny as Sehun did and he pulled out of the embrace with a huff and a hard punch to Sehun’s arm.

                “Ow, I’m kidding! I’ll be careful, I promise.”

                Every worry Sehun had about anything, any weight on his shoulders, was gone the second he started the car. When he was driving like this the race was the only thing that existed. There was no future or past, there was only empty black space on either side of the blurred city lights. Taemin took a fast lead. The light hybrids always did. The car to his right fell back so fast it wasn’t worth registering, the one on the left matched him, a Bugatti, black.

                It swayed towards him. Away. Towards him again. It was going to crash him. Then it wasn’t. Must be a new driver. Sehun jerked towards it. The Bugatti startled and veered to an alley. Sehun heard the headlights smash. No one stopped to help and another Bugatti, blue, took its place.

                They came up on traffic, falling single file between two trucks. But there were no blue dots here so fuck it. The sidewalk was almost too narrow and he felt the clip of ad boards only an inch from the driver’s side. Blue dots incoming two blocks up. But there was an opening in three, two.

                The tires squealed in harmony with the engine revving and he was back on the road next to a Tesla. The Ferrari behind him turned too sharp, forced off the road into a mailbox. Too bad. The Tesla tried to cut in front of him. Those damn electric cars were so fast. Fast because they were light. Sehun braked enough to let the car closer. Aventadors were heavy. He sped into the end of the Tesla as it turned, spinning the lighter car. The Tesla was done.

                Sehun pulled hard around a sharp corner. His arms didn’t cross and the car stayed tight to the road. There was Taemin in front of him. The pretty chrome of his 918 hard to miss. Flashy dickhead. They zipped through a sea of small KIAs. A red on the right jerked to the opposite side. A white in front braked hard. Sehun tore past them. Taemin was only two cars ahead. One.

                The next turn came from behind a semi, hidden. Sehun had the map memorized. It was a tight U and Taemin wasn’t fast enough. His car slid under the semi and he was forced to brake. He didn’t stop fully but he stopped enough. Sehun dropped into sport, the car was looser this way. It jerked during the shift. Sehun anticipated it. He let the back drift enough to pull him around smoothly. He still had control. As the Aventador straightened he slipped it back to corsa. It was tighter, tenacious in corsa.

                Kai’s stupid green McLaren came into view. It sped through a green light. It was red for Sehun. Like red would stop him. He twisted by the oncoming traffic but still had to slow, blue dots ahead. A couple in matching sweaters wandered out. Kai braked hard and swerved. Sehun caught him. They were too close. Sehun knew Kai could feel it too.

                Sehun’s mirror grazed Kai’s. This road had only two lanes. They had to separate. Headlights shone in Sehun’s face but there were no blue dots on this block. The car in front of him swerved on to the sidewalk. Sehun still needed and inch of space. Sport. Corsa. His car jerked just enough to miss the Buick he had run off the road.

                One more turn. Kai hesitated. Sehun took his chance. He wrenched the wheel hard into Kai’s space and Kai braked. Sehun made the turn in front. Kai was on his ass for the whole thing, Kai was also competitive as fuck and took the lane next to him. The wrong lane. Sehun knew he had the advantage, Kai wouldn’t risk running an Aventador off the road with his McLaren. Oncoming traffic forced Kai behind Sehun. Sehun won.

                Kai may be competitive, but he wasn’t a sore loser. He had shaken Sehun by the shoulders vigorously and unbelieving, laughter splitting his face, and congratulated him. Ilhoon had worked out the payment while Sehun celebrated with Kai. They went over details of the race and gushed about adrenaline like school girls would about idols. Taemin even seemed pleased by the whole thing. When Ilhoon was done working out the boring part Kai had invited them out drinking, Taemin had invited them to race the next day. Sehun turned down Kai, but he would definitely be racing tomorrow, especially if it was for fun.

                The second they got back to the hotel Sehun collapsed into his own bed, shoes and all. The energy from the race had left him exhausted. It was the best kind of exhausted.

                “At least brush your teeth.” Ilhoon called the words from the bathroom but Sehun wasn’t listening. He did kick his ratty converse off onto the floor and shimmy out of his jeans, so there was progress.

                “Did you see that turn with Taemin? They had spotters right?” Spotters would usually be set up in certain intervals to record the race and broadcast it to the other spectators. Technology was awesome. Ilhoon handed Sehun his toothbrush and Sehun popped it in his mouth without a second thought.

                “I saw. It was cool.” Sehun was either smiling or it was a natural pull of the lips when you brush your teeth.

                “He slid that stupid Porsche under the semi,” Sehun made a noise of disapproval low in his throat and used his toothbrush to gesticulate his point. “If you’re going to have a car that expensive at least know how to drive it!” Ilhoon just stood and listened. Sehun had been talking about the race all night, he could probably talk about the race for the next few days, and it was nice of Ilhoon to at least humor him.

                “I drove on the sidewalk.” Sehun laughed at his own actions, and also a little at Ilhoon’s disapproving stare as he looked down at Sehun. It was hard to be threatening when your mouth is full of toothpaste but Ilhoon managed somewhat.

                “I saw that too.” Ilhoon rinsed his mouth first, showering quickly after, Sehun took the bathroom second. He wasn’t paying attention when Ilhoon left the shower, eager to get his own out of the way as fast as he could. And also to talk about the race more before he fell asleep. Fuck sugar plums, he was going to have visions of chrome 918s and McLarens dancing in his head.

                “Really, the map was awesome. I should take you to every –“ He stopped in the doorway. He was realizing just now he had never seen Ilhoon shirtless. Why would he have? He needed to take advantage while he could and fine, he was admitting he wanted to see. His eyes raked over planes of shoulder muscle that lead down to a thin, feminine waist. He wanted his hands on that waist like yesterday. Ilhoon was completely unaware, pulling on an oversized white tee. No matching pajama set then.

                “Take me where?” Ilhoon hadn’t looked over to meet Sehun’s eyes, instead opting to fuck around with his sheets and pillows. He bent over to pull the far side covers back and Sehun unabashedly checked out his ass. He was met with the sight of pink, kitten covered pajama bottoms. Ah, there they were, the cute fucking pajamas. Sehun had to snap himself out of it.

                “To every race. You should plan out all of my courses.” Sehun settled into his own bed. This was way too much for him right now. He wasn’t a teenager anymore and he needed to get it the fuck together.

                “I have enough to plan right now… but maybe later, it was fun today.” Sehun flicked off the light before he let himself smile at the comment. Because Ilhoon would help him win, not because they’d make a super cute racing team. But they’d have to break up. What would he tell Kai? Kai had such a soft heart he wouldn’t take it well. Maybe they’d have to pretend to date. It wasn’t like Sehun was going to be dating anyone else anytime soon. But then what? Are they going to be dating in Gwangju and not in Seoul? What if the boss found out about their fake relationship. Sehun couldn’t sleep and his mind was running a mile a minute.

                Ilhoon seemed to be having trouble too, tossing and turning like he was running a marathon. But then Sehun heard small whimpers and he realized Ilhoon was sleeping just fine, well not fine, those were the sounds of someone having a nightmare. He’d heard enough of his brother’s girls have them. But did you wake someone up or was it like sleepwalking where you let them sleep through it? He couldn’t remember. Or wait, did you wake up sleepwalkers too?

                While Sehun was worrying over whether or not to wake him up, Ilhoon did a fine job of it himself. One hard jerk to the side and Ilhoon tumbled over the edge of the bed. Judging by the deep thunk it was safe to say something had smashed into the end table. When Sehun switched the light back on Ilhoon was on the floor, confused and bleary eyed, holding on to his head. Sehun didn’t want to laugh, but he couldn’t help it. Laughing or not he still got on the floor to help Ilhoon.

                “Let me see if it’s bleeding.” Ilhoon moved his own fingers out of the way and Sehun filled their space, working gently through Ilhoon’s hair to check for blood.

                “It’s fine, just a bump.”

                “Thanks.” Ilhoon grumbled sleepily and went to touch the wound. Too bad Sehun’s fingers were still there. Ilhoon grazed his fingers against Sehun’s before pulling away and looked up at the taller man with a muddled, drowsy smile.

                Oh fuck. Oh fucking fuck. Oh fucking fuckity fuck. Sehun was one hundred percent, undeniably, head over heels in like with Ilhoon.


	9. Zero to Sixty

                The morning had been very slow going. Sehun hadn’t slept much and dealing with an existential crisis took a lot out of a person. It wasn’t like he didn’t know he was attracted to Ilhoon, but being attracted to someone is different than having feelings for a person. Being attracted to someone meant harmless flirting that was going nowhere, it meant something that was easily ignored in favor of the bigger picture. Having feelings meant flirting that wasn’t so harmless, it meant something Sehun was shit at putting out of his mind.

                Even if they officially got up in the afternoon Ilhoon was clearly not a morning person. He had grumbled and whined and took forever to gather his handful of things. Sehun found it grossly endearing. When Ilhoon mentioned he had a meeting with someone…someplace, it was all very suspicious and secretive, Sehun hadn’t pushed for more. He could use the time to clear his head.

                “Where’s your boyfriend?” Kai didn’t know it was a question that would add to Sehun’s mental anguish, it was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask all things considered. Sehun gave a quick glance over at the other drivers in this shitty, abandoned factory parking lot. There were only a few mulling around by their cars, Taemin and two others he didn’t recognize.

                “He had some other business.” Sure yeah, keep up the lie. How could that come back to fuck him later? Kai looked like a damn grave after that, all stone faced and serious as the dead.

                “You okay? I heard you’re doing a bank job and that guy… he’s clearly in with some big people.” Sehun’s laugh was quick and bitter, probably more so than he intended.

                “Yeah man, thanks. I’m fine.” Kai put a hand on his shoulder and pulled Sehun closer.

                “I’m here for you if you need me, but if you get in over your head, bolt.” Sehun didn’t want to mention that he was already totally in over his head with the bank job alone, without all the feelings and possessiveness of the boss and the drugs and murder. But no one in his life would call him a quitter.

                Sehun opted to watch the first couple of races instead of participating. He was feeling off already and when it came to straight down the middle drag racing Taemin’s 918 would win over his car every time, maybe not every time, but enough of the time. He was happy to sit on his hood and watch the hybrids zip by. They weren’t as loud, didn’t have the same presence, as a fuel sucking full on engine. Sehun liked the sound all the same. He felt like he could be a philosopher as long as he had tires on pavement and the hum of engines as his background noise.

                Maybe it wasn’t philosophy, but he figured untangling this web of feelings and their consequences was close enough. The sooner he figured shit out the better it would be for him. It was so easy to pretend that he and Ilhoon were together, but Kai also made it easy. Kai didn’t care who did what as long as it made them happy. The people back in Seoul might make it more difficult. Fuck that, they totally, absolutely, without question would make it more difficult.

                The only thing he knew for sure was that he had no idea what to do about it all. In the past it had been all cute girls with minimal criminal connections. The most complicated it ever got involved dating one of his brother’s girls. While he had no issue with her profession it caused a lot of strife for everyone else, she felt constantly guilty and his brother was worried about their relationship cutting into profits.

                God that guy could be a real dick. He’d be a dick about Ilhoon too, more so probably. He already made his objections known. Luna would be on his side though, she’d even be happy for him. That was a big pro. If he was being honest with himself he probably cared more about what she thought than his brother. He wondered if Hyuna and E’dawn would be supportive. E’dawn would, he seemed like the type of guy to embrace romance with open arms. Hyuna probably not so much.

                “You wanna do a little racing around the factory district?”

                “Tired of Taemin destroying you in the straight shots?” Kai yanked Sehun off the hood by his ankle and Sehun felt the air leave his body as his back hit the ground.

                “Jackass, you don’t even have the guts to try.” Sehun pulled himself up and brushed at the dirt on his jeans. They were worn and faded and the dirt may have been imaginary but it was something to do besides shove Kai.

                “It’s not about guts,” Sehun leaned in close like he was going to reveal a great secret and tapped his temple. “It’s about being smart enough to know that 918 is going to win no matter who is driving it.” Kai rolled his eyes but he couldn’t hide an amused smile. Sehun knew Kai agreed with him.

                “So you down or what?”

                “Oh yeah, let’s make that Porsche eat dust.”

                He and Kai were in the lead in no time. Taemin’s car may have been faster but in the end he just wasn’t good. Okay, maybe Sehun wasn’t being fair, Taemin was good he just wasn’t good enough. He relied too much on his car and not enough on getting better. With that attitude it would always come down to just Sehun and Kai. It was fine with him, he liked it that way.

                This course was harder without a detailed and color coded map to guide him. Luckily it was in a place with no stores, no people, no pressure. If he lost here it didn’t matter, it was just a few friends driving for fun. He didn’t lose though. He pulled ahead at the last minute around a concrete pillar he could only guess the purpose of.

                The second race started out similarly, the other drivers didn’t stand a chance. Sehun couldn’t even remember the names of the two new guys, they barely existed. They were probably rich boys with family money who thought owning a fancy car made them a racer. Nothing against fancy cars of course, Sehun loved them as much as anyone, or even rich boys in general. Taemin came from money too and he was fine, but it’s why he thought the car could metaphorically carry him.

                Kai jerked hard around the pillar this time and Sehun backed off. He had minimal damage on this car so far and he was not looking to do anymore, not when it cost as much as buying another car to fix it. Kai won but it didn’t stir any bitterness in Sehun. Kai loved racing as much as he did and Sehun was happy to share victory.

                They were still talking animatedly about that victory when Taemin and his friends left. They had to show each other every bit of damage their car had gotten and talk more about the race yesterday. They had to talk about who was absolute shit and who could be a threat later. They needed, not wanted, needed to talk about how amazing both their cars were.

                “Did your boyfriend seriously get this car for you?” Sehun’s casual attitude tensed and crumpled under the reminder of reality. It was too late to tell Kai now, maybe he would have to date Ilhoon just so Kai could go on living a blissful life where everyone he knows is happy.

                “He did but he’s not that altruistic. It’s mostly for the bank job in Seoul.” Kai made a small noise in his throat as he thought. His eyes raking over the Aventador’s form like it was a pile of glistening jewels with a naked woman lying on top.

                “You’re not like… dating him for the car right?” Only Kai would live a life of crime, be best friends with people who stole and sold drugs, and care about someone’s intentions when they were dating. Sehun half expected him to call it courting.

                “No, definitely not. In fact…” Sehun hesitated. Kai could potentially help him with his dilemma on whether or not to ignore his feelings. Kai had been mostly successful when it came to dating, kind of. He dated a lot of absolutely bat-shit insane adrenaline junkies but he had longer relationships than anyone else Sehun knew, unless Hyuna and E’dawn had been together for more than a year. He should really ask about that.

                “We aren’t supposed to be together. We work together and… it’s hard to explain but he has a complicated relationship with the man in charge.” Kai waited patiently for Sehun to continue, but Sehun was finding it difficult to be so vulnerable.

                “I don’t know, it all happened so fast. Maybe we should break up.” His throat tightened. He wasn’t even dating Ilhoon and the thought of them breaking up made him sad. He had no idea how he got so wrapped up so quickly. This was a fucking whirlwind. He should stomp down any feelings because someone was going to get hurt.

                “I can tell by that pissy look on your face you don’t want to break up.” Kai took a moment to gather his thoughts, worrying at his lip while he did it. When he was ready he put a hand on Sehun’s shoulder, supposedly for comfort, and looked him dead in the eye.

                “You and me, we’re racers right?” Sehun assumed it was rhetorical. After a long, awkward moment he realized it was not.

                “Yeah, we are.”

                “So we both know the best things in life are fast and dangerous.” As if by some kind of divine will, Ilhoon called. He had finished his meeting and was inviting Sehun to come get something to eat. He even invited Kai, as tacked on and hesitant as the invitation was. Kai had politely declined and left Sehun to meet up with his boyfriend.

                The restaurant Ilhoon had directed him to was not one Sehun thought he’d ever eat in. He never wanted to eat in one. It was high society and stuffy. The judgmental eyes of everyone there, including the staff, made his skin itch. At least Ilhoon also looked out of place and when Sehun dropped in to the seat next to him he felt relieved. The people across from them fit in so well that Sehun didn’t even notice them until they spoke up.

                “You must be Sehun.” He felt his body jump, he couldn’t stop it. The guy who spoke looked friendly enough, he had a smile that reached his eyes. The girl he was with matched their inviting image. She had a soft, round face that reminded him of an older sister.

                “Uh, yeah.” He shot Ilhoon what he hoped was his best questioning look. Ilhoon understood but acted as if Sehun had asked him to walk through hot coals. He sighed deeply and finished his drink, some kind of red wine Sehun wouldn’t know what to do with. He just knew it stuck to the edge of the glass and maybe that was good.

                “This is Changsub and Chorong.” So no qualifier, cool. Sehun tried his best to read who these people might be besides their name, but he had no clue. They looked like your basic, wealthy, well-dressed couple. What they might be doing with Ilhoon was an even bigger mystery.

                “Ilhoonie told us all about you.” Changsub was smiling at him in a way that made Sehun seriously worry. It was the smile of someone about to publicly embarrass you.

                “Oh? What did he say?” Might as well jump on the embarrassment train as long as he wasn’t getting run over by it. Ilhoon groaned and hid his face in his hands. Chorong slapped a hand over Changsub’s mouth before he could share any details.

                “Thank you noona, truly the world doesn’t deserve you.” Chorong struggled between flattered at Ilhoon’s compliment and nonchalant about the whole ordeal. Ilhoon kicked Changsub under the table.

                “The world doesn’t deserve you either, hyung.” Sehun got the impression he meant those words very differently. Changsub was unfazed by the hostility, he snickered at Ilhoon and waved at someone across the room. The waiter brought them menus with no prices.

                “Get whatever you want, it’s on us.” Where the hell did Ilhoon meet these people? The generous socialites who buy you food and chat like old friends? They didn’t seem like the type to hang around with a teenage drug dealer. Either way Sehun was totally going to live it up on someone else’s dime. They waited until he had ordered, some French dish that he had never heard of, before they informed him of the price he had to pay.

                “We trust that you can keep meeting us a secret, right Sehun?” Chorong had a light, friendly voice but there was a threatening undercurrent. It told Sehun he would keep it secret or they’d cut out his tongue. Maybe that’s not exactly what they were saying, but it seriously couldn’t be far off. Whatever, he could keep meeting these people he knew nothing about a secret. Chances are he would have kept it secret unintentionally because who the fuck would he tell?

                “Of course, discrete is my middle name.”

                “I would hope that’s true for everyone who commits crimes for a living.” Chorong was not impressed by him even a little, but Changsub laughed and drank and generally seemed pretty happy to be there.

                As the night went on Sehun felt more and more comfortable. They chatted about what Chorong and Changsub had been up to, what places they visited and what food they ate there. Ilhoon seemed particularly interested in London. Changsub regaled them with an exaggerated tale about a show they did in Tokyo. Something about the story made Sehun doubt they were performers, but he couldn’t put his finger on what. Changsub sensed his shift in mood, seemed to know Sehun was going to ask questions, but Sehun was also easily distracted.

                “So Ilhoon, how’s Joo doing?” Ilhoon paused, drink half-way to his lips. He had that look that he got when he was figuring someone out right down to their bones. It was over so fast you’d have to know him to see it.

                “She’d be better if we didn’t have someone breathing down our necks every second to push product.” No preamble, just straight to the truth. To their credit Changsub and Chorong didn’t even flinch.

                “She always was a better leader than that shithead running things now.” Chorong’s words seemed deliberate and precise.

                “Joo is a better leader than a lot of people.” Sehun got the feeling that Chorong and Ilhoon were having a different conversation than he was hearing. For the first time tonight Changsub’s lips were tight and his eyes were dark.

                “You have to think that. She’s your older sister.”

                “I don’t think that about my older brother.” Sehun probably shouldn’t interject when he wasn’t exactly sure what he was getting in the middle of, but if he was going to get roped into something it might as well be on Ilhoon’s side.

                “See, I’m right.” Changsub eased into his earlier laid back posture at Ilhoon’s snappy tone.

                “You always think you’re right Ilhoonie.” Ilhoon smiled, crooked but genuine. Whatever issue they were talking about in hidden casual speech was somehow settled and the friendly, playful atmosphere returned.

                “I think you should listen to me, hyung.”

                “You’ve got a lot of people listening to you these days.” Changsub sized him up but Sehun was getting good at standing against assessing looks. Changsub and Chorong were masters at reading people, that much was obvious, and whatever Changsub saw in Sehun he seemed to like. They made small talk until the sun set before they finally parted ways.

                Sehun would have preferred to drive in the daylight, but he was fine with the dark. It made the drive feel longer and he wasn’t in a hurry to get back to Seoul. A lot of real shit was waiting for them in Seoul. Ilhoon was leaning against the door, staring out the window at the shadowy shapes of passing trees. It was the most cliché thing ever for Sehun to think he looked pretty in the moonlight.

                “What was that back there? With Joo?” Ilhoon didn’t answer. Sehun didn’t honestly expect him to. Ilhoon seemed to be a master of keeping things to himself when he wanted. He was thinking about answering though, Sehun could tell because he was fussing with a rip on his jeans, pulling the threads out one by one.

                “It’s nothing.” It wasn’t nothing. Ilhoon knew Sehun wouldn’t buy it but it was better than silence and Sehun wasn’t going to call him on it. He didn’t know what Ilhoon’s relationship to Changsub and Chorong was and he wasn’t sure he’d know what was going on even if Ilhoon told him.

                “Thank you for backing me up in there.” Ilhoon meant it too. He probably didn’t have many people in his corner, even Hyuna seemed to question him at every turn and they were friends. At least Sehun thought they were friends. What if they were only co-workers? No way, they were definitely friends.

                “No problem, anytime.” Ilhoon smiled over at him, only a little.

                “Still, I appreciate you doing it.”

                “Remind me to undress more slowly in the hotel next time and you can appreciate me even more.” Ilhoon scoffed and turned back to the window. Sehun swore he was flushed red.

                “Trust me, I appreciate you enough.” Sehun couldn’t help the smile that took over his face.

                “For the work that I do or physically? Because you definitely don’t appreciate me enough physically.”

                “So I appreciate you enough for your work?”

                “You have thanked me twice.” Ilhoon twisted his whole body to face Sehun, one leg under him on the bucket seat, and made a cute face.

                “I should be careful, you’ll get too full of yourself.”

                “Really? Do you expect me not to say anything to that?” Ilhoon fluttered his eyelashes, presenting a paragon of innocence, and it was distracting Sehun from the road.

                “I don’t know what you mean.”

                “How can I not say something like ‘keep acting cute and you could be full of me too’?” Ilhoon leaned forward a little over the center console to rest on an elbow.

                “So you think I’m cute huh?”

                “I didn’t say that, I said you were acting cute.” Ilhoon pulled back at that comment, but he was grinning so wide Sehun knew he wasn’t offended.

                “Not cute then.”

                “Oh no, you’re definitely cute, the cutest.” Ilhoon hid his grin behind his hand as he situated himself to face forward again.

                “I’m not so cute when I’m riding a dick.” Sehun was so startled he swerved into the other lane in a sudden panic. Ilhoon was never the forward one and it shook him to his core. Forward was an attractive look on Ilhoon and he should probably think of things that are the opposite of Ilhoon riding him before he embarrassed himself. Like ice cold showers. Or golf.

                Ilhoon was silent after that, the playful flirting was gone and a tight, heavy silence filled the small space. Maybe Sehun didn’t need to have a crisis about his feelings after all. It was entirely possible that Ilhoon didn’t return those feelings and the whole thing was for nothing. He hadn’t even considered it. Fuck, maybe Ilhoon wasn’t even down for fooling around and this was all just being caught up in a moment. Maybe he had never once pictured Sehun’s dick. That’d be a shame, he had a great dick. Ilhoon jerked him out of his thoughts with a sudden demand.

                “That service road, pull off on to it.” Sehun screwed his eyebrows together. He didn’t see cops chasing them or anything. He didn’t even see another car on the road. What the fuck was happening? But he was nothing if not good at following orders and he did as he was told.


	10. Serious, Sexy, Secrets

                Sehun drove far enough down the service road that no one could see from the main highway, per Ilhoon’s orders. The second the car was in park, before Sehun could fully register what was happening or ask any questions, Ilhoon snapped at him again.

                “You should put your seat all the way back.” He bent to the side to find the damn lever in the dark and pushed the seat as far away from the steering wheel as it would go, Aventadors were not known for their space or seat flexibility.

                “Seriously what’s going on? Why –“ he was cut short by a lap full of Ilhoon. Thank God the other man was as thin as he was. Even being tiny he was pushed almost against the steering wheel, legs folded on either side of Sehun and hands twisting hesitantly in Sehun’s loose button-up. Okay. Okay. Sehun felt his breath quicken and when he looked up to meet Ilhoon’s half lidded gaze he tightened his grip on Ilhoon’s hips. When did his hands get there?

                “You should kiss me now.” Sehun didn’t need to be told twice. He pressed their mouths together desperately. Their teeth clacked at the urgency and Sehun pulled back.

                “Sorry.” He didn’t give Ilhoon time to respond. This time when their lips met Sehun was more careful, almost gentle. He ran his tongue across Ilhoon’s bottom lip, it was chapped from nervous worrying, but when Ilhoon whimpered into his mouth Sehun was so distracted he almost didn’t notice it. He felt fingers run through his hair. It was relaxing and tantalizing and it was a twisting of too much, just like everything else about their relationship.

                He pulled away, barely, and drug his lips over to a constellation of moles on Ilhoon’s face. He swore he had a dream about them once. Then his mouth was on Ilhoon’s neck. He had enough wherewithal to keep the kissing soft, can’t leave a mark. He passed his hands over Ilhoon’s body, his legs, his sides, eventually settling them on the small of his back. It was hard not to be rougher, faster, with Ilhoon gasping out small, stifled moans at each graze of his lips. It was hard to savor every touch when he wanted this so much, more than he let himself believe.

                Ilhoon rolled his hips and Sehun couldn’t stop himself from moaning into Ilhoon’s shoulder. He needed a minute, seriously. He couldn’t remember the last time he came in ten seconds like a fucking teenager but if he wasn’t careful that was exactly what was going to happen now. He wrapped his arms around Ilhoon to stop him from moving.

                “Wait. Just…” Ilhoon did, relaxing into the embrace. It was more intimate than Sehun had intended, even considering the circumstances. The car was hot, filled with a deep hum from the engine Sehun didn’t turn off and their own labored breathing. Sehun’s arms were tight around Ilhoon’s small frame, his face resting on a bony clavicle as fingers carded through his damp hair. He wondered briefly if the sweat bothered Ilhoon.

                The wondering only lasted a second before his brain focused on the kiss to his temple, then the one on his cheekbone, and finally one on his mouth. It was feather-light but that minute Sehun needed was up. He chased Ilhoon’s lips when he pulled away and wasted no time before he was licking inside Ilhoon’s mouth. As amazing as making out was he wanted more. He untangled his arms and ran his hands up Ilhoon’s sides under his shirt.

                “I need this off.”

                “Tsk, needy.” Ilhoon was smirking down at him but his blown pupils said that he was needy too. Getting the shirt off took a lot more effort in the small space than Sehun would have imagined. He pulled it up in on swift motion, but Ilhoon’s arms smacked hard on the roof of the car and he twisted when his head got stuck. Sehun did his best to reposition Ilhoon’s arms for him, but hit the window with his elbow instead. By the time the damn thing was off and in the passenger seat Ilhoon was laughing at him, he couldn’t help but laugh back.

                “Yours too.” Ilhoon was so slow with the buttons, working each one with delicate fingers carefully. Sehun couldn’t take it, he jerked the last few buttons off completely, the thread snapping with a loud pop. When he tried to pull his arms out of the sleeves he ran into a different problem. Their already small space didn’t give him room to stretch his arms out. He didn’t realize just how far forward he was leaning, focused on jerking his arms free, until he pushed Ilhoon into the steering wheel and the horn nearly gave him a heart attack. Ilhoon laughed at that too.

                Sehun cut off his laughter with a rough kiss. He held on to Ilhoon’s hips forcefully, there might be a bruise, and thrust up. Ilhoon broke their kiss with a moan, bracing an arm on the roof to push back against him. It felt too good, even with the fabric between them. Sehun wouldn’t dare try to get their pants off in this car but it didn’t matter. They rocked against each other with just the right angle and he was done for. He kissed across Ilhoon’s collarbone, felt Ilhoon tangling fingers back into his hair, and ran his tongue over Ilhoon’s nipple before taking it into his mouth.

                Ilhoon arched his back over the steering wheel and Sehun moved to the other side. The way that Ilhoon was moaning and whimpering, mumbling Sehun’s name and driving himself down on Sehun’s dick had Sehun right on the edge. When he pulled back and saw Ilhoon’s face, lips parted and eyes barely open, he knew it was over.

                “Ah… fuck, I’m close.”

                “Me too, really close.” Ilhoon shifted forward, steadying himself with a grip on the seat behind Sehun. Their pace quickened at the new angle and their mouths met. Sehun wouldn’t call it a kiss really, they were both panting and moaning and almost kissing but not quite. Sehun looped his arms around Ilhoon again, but not to still him. He felt the pleasure building, his thoughts scattering, and he wanted as much skin touching as he could get. He squeezed Ilhoon against him as he came and Ilhoon wasn’t far behind, kissing Sehun hard as he rode out his own orgasm. They stayed like that, holding each other, until Ilhoon broke their afterglow.

                “We should change.” He did have a point, coming in your pants didn’t leave them very comfortable. Sehun opened the door and nearly dumped Ilhoon out on the ground. So their legs weren’t working super well yet, whatever. He was supporting Ilhoon enough that they both managed to stay upright. They rifled through their bags in silence, it wasn’t awkward necessarily, until they realized they had to change their pants and neither one was sure if they should look away or not. Sehun made an executive decision that it didn’t matter and changed right next to Ilhoon.

                If it was up to him they would definitely be seeing each other without pants in the future. It wasn’t up to just him though, and he had a feeling Ilhoon stopped the car because whatever this was wouldn’t be happening in Seoul. He got it. He didn’t know the boss personally, but he didn’t seem like the sharing type. Not that he owned Ilhoon, you can’t own a person. The boss seriously needed to be… what? Taken out of power? Murdered?

                “Wait.” Ilhoon was about to open the passenger side door when Sehun stopped him, spun him around and shifted him against the car. Ilhoon was looking up at him expectantly but Sehun wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to say. There were a thousand things to talk about but nothing felt right. Instead he just kissed him, arms snaking around Ilhoon’s waist. The kiss was a different kind of desperate, when Ilhoon locked his arms around Sehun’s neck he knew Ilhoon felt it too. It felt way too much like a goodbye kiss.

                When they got back to Seoul Sehun couldn’t stop thinking about it. Why couldn’t he be easily distracted when it was fucking helpful? He had already jerked off twice today, taking full advantage of the empty house. Now he was laying on his bed staring at the notes about their escape route. Should he re-write these? Ilhoon did a great job at organizing but it might be better if they were done exactly how he wanted them.

                “Hey Sehunnie.” He inhaled sharply in surprise and nearly swallowed the pen he was absently chewing on. Luna didn’t seem bothered by it, she just collapsed into the bed next to him, pulling his pillow so she had more of it than he did.

                “What are you up to?” He tossed the notes over her on to the floor and ran a hand through his hair. He has washed it yesterday when they got back but he needed to wash it today too. Maybe he wouldn’t. He kind of wanted to keep laying around stuck in his own head. Speaking of, Luna was staring at him, waiting.

                “Nothing, I was getting ready to go out driving by the bank tomorrow.”

                “It’s always work work work huh?” She picked up the notes herself and leafed through them, not stopping on any page long enough to actually read anything.

                “This weekend wasn’t work, I got to drive the Lamborghini. Tomorrow I have to drive Joo’s car.” Something in Luna’s lighthearted mood shifted at the mention of Joo’s name. She tensed just enough that Sehun felt it.

                “Joo is letting you take her car? How magnanimous of her.” Sehun laughed at her word choice. The way she said it was almost sarcastic but Sehun wasn’t sure. Luna liked Ilhoon fine, did she hate the other half of the duo?

                “Well her brother is using it too.” She was lost in thought for a minute and Sehun let her sit in silence. He was not expecting her to abruptly change the subject.

                “Your handwriting is really nice.”

                “Ilhoon took them.” She snorted and traced a particularly well written character with her polished nail. She was debating something. Sehun could tell because she was biting the tip of tongue like a cat who didn’t quite get it back in while they were cleaning themselves.

                “What?” She looked over to him with knit brows.

                “You sure you’re okay with all this? The bank job, I mean. It’s not too much?” Sehun turned on to his side so he could face her. This was more serious than he wanted to be today. Everyone was so fucking happy for him when he got the job but now that he was following through they were worried? What the hell?

                “First Kai now you, I’m fine. I promise.” Luna still didn’t look happy. She looked stressed and secretive and worried and like a whole hurricane of negative emotion.

                “What’s going on?” She shuffled to her side to mimic his position, slow and with less grace than he knew she possessed. She was stalling.

                “It’s just… There’s been a lot of chatter about Joo on the streets these days.” Sehun himself hadn’t been running around much lately, wrapped up in his own little world. Usually he would hear things from the girls, from people he was delivering drugs to, from people he drank with.

                “What are people saying?”

                “She’s been using her money to help around the community. I mean, that’s not just what they’re saying, that’s what she’s doing.” Luna hesitated, like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep the next part a secret or not.

                “Ilhoon does sometimes too, gives money to people who need it.” So Luna was hesitant to talk about her relationship with Ilhoon just as much as Ilhoon was. Sehun thought of a hundred worst case scenarios as to why and was pissed at himself when a secret love affair made the top of that list. Seriously, Luna had encouraged him to go for it. He never considered himself the jealous type, he dated people who literally had sex with other people for money for Christ’s sake.

                “Suzi said Joo paid for her cosmetology school, and the door to that old church was mysteriously fixed.” Luna apparently took his silence as a que to continue, not that he wanted her to stop.

“I don’t know, it just feels strange.” She was focused, disturbed. The slums really fucked up a person. How bad was it when people doing nice things disturbed you? He got it though, it was all… weird, just like his dinner with Changsub and Chorong.

                “Ilhoon said Joo was a good leader this weekend.” A wide grin broke out across her face, Joo completely forgotten.

                “And how was your weekend? Tell me all about it.” Sehun rolled his eyes and scrubbed at his face, mostly to hide how red he knew it was.

                “The racing was really fun. It was good to see Kai and Taemin is the same as always.” She hummed an affirmative noise.

                “And your time with Ilhoon? All work?” He wasn’t going to get out of telling her, Luna was great at gathering information when she wanted it. In another life she could have been a journalist. It didn’t mean he couldn’t use her curiosity to his advantage.

                “How about this, you tell me something about your relationship with Ilhoon and I’ll tell you something about mine.” She was considering it, that was good. It took her a minute but in the end she stuck her pinky out for him. He wrapped his own around it.

                “Ilhoon and I are friends because of a bad situation.” It wasn’t enough, Sehun needed more. He remained silent in response and Luna groaned in annoyance.

                “Okay, fine. Ilhoon and I are friends because the boss likes to look at Ilhoon’s face… you know, during.” Well, that certainly constituted a bad situation, but it was vague and Sehun’s brain was putting pieces together in a way he hoped was wrong. Ilhoon said the boss didn’t fuck him but that didn’t mean the boss didn’t… watch. Maybe his idea of a love affair wasn’t as far off as he assured himself.

                “During… you and Ilhoon…” He couldn’t get the words out, he felt his throat tightening as if his body was rejecting the idea full stop. Luna scrunched her face up in disgust and shoved him into the wall. How the fuck did she get so strong?

                “Ew what the fuck no.” A feeling of relief washed over Sehun and it made him feel a little guilty. He wasn’t dating Ilhoon, it wasn’t like Ilhoon couldn’t fuck around with other people. Seriously though, ew? Fucking Ilhoon was the ew part? Then again, if they were close maybe it was like fucking your cousin. He wanted to be irritated but he was amused instead.

                “What’s so bad about fucking Ilhoon?” His words were playful but Luna pulled back, shocked, like she was looking at him for the first time all day.

                “Holy shit did you fuck Ilhoon?”

                “No!” He didn’t mean to be so defensive, he had planned on telling her everything anyway, it just sort of came out that way. She was smirking at him. Why could people read him like a book? He was a terrible criminal.

                “I mean… we didn’t get that far.” She laughed and shoved him again but not nearly as hard this time.

                “So how far did you get?” Sehun shrugged and found a spot on his jeans very interesting all of a sudden.

                “Just some making out in the car… a little bit of grinding, you know?” He tried to sound nonchalant about the whole thing but he wasn’t very successful. He could feel his face heating up as every second ticked by. Luna looked way too smug about being right.

                “Your turn.” Sehun needed to change the subject as quickly as he could, this was not a sleepover for middle school girls to talk about boys. Okay, so they were talking about a boy, they still didn’t have to make it all gossipy. Luna’s face fell back into thinking mode, but it was way too severe for how good-natured the atmosphere had been.

                “I’ll tell you one more thing, if you promise to never say anything about it and not to ask any questions.” Her voice was dangerous, not as much as Chorong’s who he knew would do horrible things to him, but enough. A lot of people were trusting him with secrets these days, but fuck, if he could keep a secret for strangers he could keep one for Luna. It was the questions part he would struggle with.

                “I promise.” He tried to match her purposeful tone, to convey just how seriously he took it.

                “Ilhoon and I killed someone.” This day took a turn he was not expecting, not even a little bit. He imagined his eyes were like saucers right now and maybe they’d fly away and prove this was all a dream. He couldn’t remember how to breathe let alone form words. What in the absolute fuck was happening right now? Was Luna seriously admitting to murder? Thank God she was patient with him and that she knew one sentence wouldn’t be enough.

                “It wasn’t on purpose, but even if it was… who we killed deserved it.” He should think of her differently now, knowing she killed another person, but when he thought about the boss bruising Ilhoon’s wrists, the guard dogs watching Ilhoon’s every move, thought about the guy who hit Luna and the guy who bit her hard enough to scar, he couldn’t. He couldn’t pretend there weren’t people he’d kill if he needed to. He trusted her, and if she thought they deserved it in Sehun’s eyes they did.

                “I think I might be in love with Ilhoon.” He hadn’t even used that word to himself, he didn’t want to admit it. He wasn’t sure if it was too serious for what he felt. Considering that Luna just admitted she killed someone he figured the seriousness fit the situation. She smiled at him like he took a weight off her chest. It must suck to carry around that guilt and have no one. At least she’d have him.

                “Love you Sehunnie.” He pulled her into a hug, she could probably use it. She would always be family to him, maybe even more so than his brother. He couldn’t say with any conviction that’d he be on his brother’s side if his brother killed someone.

                “Love you too.”

                Driving around the next day with Ilhoon wasn’t awkward, despite the fact that Sehun was having trouble not looking at Ilhoon’s mouth every time he put that fucking pen in it. It seemed easy for Ilhoon to put the whole thing behind him and pretend it never happened, he was acting the same as always. It didn’t bother Sehun, much to his own surprise, instead it was kind of comforting. It made it almost effortless to fall back into things. Driving Joo’s cheap-ass KIA was way more awkward. Why the hell did someone making so much money have such a shit car?

                “She didn’t want to get one in the first place. She likes the subway.” So Sehun had started thinking out loud, fun. Ilhoon didn’t even look up from the notes he was taking so at least he probably wasn’t saying everything out loud. Maybe he should though, that damn pen had found its way back to Ilhoon’s lips.

                “Can you not do that?” Ilhoon looked up at him, genuine curiosity showing in his scrunched brows.

                “Do what?”

                “Put that pen in your mouth.” Ilhoon’s unsure scowl morphed into a look of knowing satisfaction. Fucker. He did keep the pen firmly to the paper though so Sehun figured it was a win. Sort of. He felt a little disappointed in the lack of bickering and flirting over it.

                “Afraid of germs?” That’s better.

                “I hope not considering where that mouth’s been.” Ilhoon was back to taking notes, all focus on the paper. Sehun could still see his mouth ticked up at the corner.

                “So thinking about where my mouth could be then.” That was on hundred percent what he was thinking about. Before Sehun could quip back Ilhoon steered the conversation towards work.

                “Can you think of any other routes to take?” Sehun shrugged and turned down an alley they had taken twice already. Ilhoon was quick to flip back to its page in the notebook and scribble down something about the new cars parked there.

                “Not really, we’ve been out for over an hour already and we’ve got a lot of stuff to go over.” Ilhoon nodded in agreement, counting the pages he’d filled out in that time.

                “Want to stop and get something to eat before we head back?” Sehun wanted to make a joke about Ilhoon asking him on a date, but something about it made him feel too vulnerable.

                “Yeah, sounds good.” Sehun parked them near a small seafood place on the edge of the Financial district. People from the slums ate there often enough that they wouldn’t stand out, and considering they were trying to keep a low profile it seemed like the best option. Ilhoon approved, he was smiling that genuine, crooked smile when they sat down.

                “Ilhoonie-hyung!” The waiter leaned down to hug Ilhoon and Ilhoon let him, but swatted at the taller man when the hug lingered, making an irritated noise in his throat. Ilhoon treated him coldly considering he was someone who clearly liked Ilhoon, and as far as Sehun knew there weren’t many of those people. Ilhoon ordered for both of them and shooed the waiter away. Poor waiter guy, Sungjae according to his name tag. Good thing Sungjae seemed to take it in stride.

                That was one major problem with eating in a place frequented by people in the slums, everyone knew everyone. It was a lot like a small town, there was no escape from all the fucking knowing. This was especially true for people like Sehun and Ilhoon who were on the radar of every shithead below them on the criminal ladder.

                “Hey, you!” Sehun had never seen ugly mug with a scraggly beard or his happy band of not-so-intimidating back-up before but they apparently knew who he was. Ilhoon didn’t look up from the banchan he was picking at, perfectly fine with ignoring the situation.

                “You think you can just come out here and eat while your brother owes us money?”

                “Well it’s not like I owe you money.” Sehun almost wished he had a better filter but the startled look on scraggly-beard’s face was worth it. He was glowing red with anger and he slammed a meaty fist on to their table to intimidate them. Ilhoon rolled his eyes.

                “Listen here pretty boy,” uhg, only assholes called him that, “your brother’s in a lot of trouble.”

                “So what? You gonna give him a spanking?” That was the wrong thing to say. Scraggly-beard swiped all the banchan on to the floor and when the clattering of dishes faded the restaurant was silent. Ilhoon set his chopsticks down and Sehun felt the irritation in the click they made. The loud scrape of Sehun’s chair as he stood was like nails on a chalkboard in the quiet and Scraggly-beard backed up, almost involuntarily.

                “Listen here, fuckface.” Sehun took a step into his space, leaning his face close. He kept his voice deep and deadly, almost a growl. He wouldn’t tell anyone ever that he was channeling his inner Chorong and Luna. So what if he had strong female role models?

                “Back off and get out of here before we have a problem.” It probably helped that Sehun was taller than the person he was intimidating, and that he really was ready to fight if he needed to. He knew Ilhoon would be good enough support and they’ve already fought one group of assholes together. Scraggly-beard wasn’t as stupid as he looked and was already backing away to leave.

                “You tell your brother he needs to pay up or we’re coming for more than his money.” The threat would have been better if his voice wasn’t shaky. Still though, a threat is a threat and Sehun would have to talk to his brother about it. Not now though. Now Ilhoon was staring across the table at him as he sat back down, a soft smile and dark eyes that made Sehun’s breath catch.

                “You’re pretty sexy you know that?” Sehun fumbled with the water Sungjae was handing him but by the grace of God and good reflexes didn’t spill it. Seriously, he was so cool just a second ago.

                “Be careful, I’ll start thinking you like me.” Ilhoon didn’t deny it.


	11. Interlude: Hyuna

                “You know it’s been nine months since Ji-sung died.” Hyuna pitched her beer bottle, Hite, towards the river. It smashed against the pavement with a musical shatter. She usually hated littering, especially near somewhere so meaningful, but this wasn’t the Han River. This was Han. This was grief and sorrow, isolation from the world of normal lives. The only families you would find here were patchwork, mismatched and forced together. The laughter of playing children was replaced by the groans of strung-out junkies and the chattering of people who talked to themselves instead of friends.

                Ilhoon was silent next to her on the rundown bench, staring at Sehun’s number on his phone and hesitating, like he had been doing every single fucking day for those nine months. He was clutching his own beer like a lifeline. He turned his phone off, pressing the buttons too hard, and shoved it back into his pocket. She elbowed him, a silent encouragement to drink. He obeyed, downing what was left and smashing his own bottle with purpose.

                “This kid could die too.” Hyuna snorted, very unladylike, into her next bottle. For someone who would happily risk his own life he sure as hell wasn’t eager to risk anyone else’s. She both loved and hated that about him. Part of her wanted to take care of him, even more than she did with Hyojong, but it was a lot like taking care of a scared cat, get too close, too comfortable and it’ll scratch you. It will hiss and push you away, even if it wants to be close to you.

                “He could. We all could. And he’s not a kid. He’s the same age as you and E’dawn.” Ilhoon’s lips tightened and he ground his teeth. She hated it when he did that. It meant he wanted to talk back to her. She almost wished he just would without the tense bullshit first. He wasn’t good at holding his tongue, he had his own kind of hot temper that burned through any social hierarchy.

                “He just runs around drugs and prostitutes. He doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into.” His argument was weak, Hyuna could tell that he felt it too. Anyone who grew up in the slums knew exactly what the fuck they were getting themselves into. Organized crime was the authority here, the police and politicians of their own world. Even those not involved had seen the bodies, the drugs, gotten a share of the profits in exchange for their shaky loyalty. Everyone. Knew.

                “Ilhoon, we can’t keep robbing small places where we don’t have to worry about cops. We need somewhere else big, especially after that last fuck up.” Ilhoon sighed his ‘I know Hyuna is right’ sigh and leaned against her shoulder. He was peeling absently at the label on his fresh beer where the condensation had loosened the glue.

                “What if we get him killed?” She put her arm around his shoulders, they were bony through his thin jacket. She made a mental note to take him with her and Hyojong next time they went out to eat. Unfortunately she was about to drown Ilhoon in some bitter truth but she could try her best to give him what little comfort she could.

                “We didn’t get Ji-sung killed. He got himself killed. If this driver fucks up then he will have gotten himself killed too. People fucking die and there’s nothing you can do about it.” She felt Ilhoon relax against her. It was something she appreciated about him. He preferred the truth even if it was hard to hear. She felt like a kindred spirit in that regard. She couldn’t remember all the times people had looked at her slight frame and pretty face and tried to wrap up their lies in sugar and cashmere, make them soft and palatable to spare her pain. She and Ilhoon would both pick truth over the lies every single time, even if it burned like cheap whiskey and gasoline. 

                When she first met Ilhoon he was surrounded by a sea of people in black, blurry faces hidden behind expensive glasses and designer hats. His own outfit was red, just like hers. It was a blazing, smoldering rebellion in the smallest form. Her mother had told her to blend in, to make herself plain, had cursed her good looks and swore they’d only bring her trouble. Hyuna had told her to go fuck herself. The slums were a desolate grey fog all on their own and she refused to fade into this existence. She and Ilhoon both refused to be nothing.

The Boss had given them a small job, a new Jewelry store that had opened with no security, and they had done it alone. She was happy to have Hyojong with them now, she loved him, truly, deeply, but there was something about her and Ilhoon risking everything without backup that made her heart stop in the best way. They were Bonnie and Clyde, Thelma and Louise, only better. It was them against the oppression of the world. She imagined it’s a lot like what taking the Miracle Cure feels like, and she can’t blame anyone for chasing the feeling.

                “I’ll call him tomorrow. We can start working on the Yeouido job after that.”

                “Good, I’ll let E’dawn know.” They stayed still in the cold night air, letting the idea of their next job settle the best they could. To Hyuna it was like ants under her skin. She knew they needed to do it, they had to keep the boss happy, but it didn’t sit well. She understood Ilhoon’s hesitation with a new driver, but it was more than that. She knew he was partly dragging his feet because he could feel it too. Something felt different, wrong, but she couldn’t put her finger on what.

                “We’re the best, Noona. We’re red.” She smiled, resting her head on top of his. They were red. They were passion and fire, the ignition of change. They were power, boldness and rebellion. They would stand out, stand on top. No matter what happened, no matter what conflict was to come, no matter what they had to do to ensure it, they would be the victors.


	12. Blood is Thicker

                Sehun had a nice day despite the incident in the restaurant. It was peaceful, he was finding that he really liked planning escape routes. Plus he and Ilhoon had an easy lunch after the assholes left. The door to the apartment slammed so hard the hinges shook. He guessed all good things have to come to an end and now that he was staring at his brother’s angry, drunk face his day was going considerably worse.

                “Who the fuck do you owe money to?” To be fair, maybe he could have been a little less snappy, but seriously he just had thugs threatening him while he was out to eat. His brother glared at him through bleary eyes, pushing past him to get to the kitchen. Sehun followed. This was going to be a long night.

                “Seriously man, some muscle threatened me in a damn restaurant. Outside of Yeouido.” A glass smashed at Sehun’s feet as his brother rooted around a cupboard, drunken hands making a mess of Luna’s careful organization.

                “We need some money…”

                “Obviously.” Sehun wasn’t sure why he and his brother were so tense with each other. Sure, they never had a loving, movie-esque sibling relationship but they at least got along. Fuck, they ran a prostitution ring together. Sehun even let his brother be the one in charge. Not that Sehun was jumping at the chance to take over or anything.

                “I mean we need. No, I mean…” His brother finally got the water on. He probably needed coffee more than water if they were going to have this conversation. Unless that water was in the form of a cold shower. He rested a heavy hand on Sehun’s shoulder to keep from swaying before he continued.

                “I mean we need to be in charge.”

                “We are in charge.” His brother shook his head and stumbled a little. Sehun caught him and attempted to lead him to the living room.

                “I mean of all of the whores.” He made a sweeping gesture with his arm and nearly smacked Sehun in the damn head. Sehun let him fall into the wall. Fuck this shit.

                “What the fuck are you talking about?” Finally his brother made it to the couch. Sehun opted to stand. He knew looking down at someone gave you the illusion of power and he could use a little power over his brother right now.

                “I mean with Yixing and Seungri. Don’t you think they should work for us?” Sehun knew he meant to say ‘work for me’ because he sure as hell wasn’t going to start sharing control with Sehun. And no. He did not think Yixing and Seungri should work for either of them. Working out a truce had taken two damn years and he liked to think he was friends with both of them at this point, comfortable allies at the very least. Yixing controlled the foreign girls, they got the domestic ones, and Seungri worked with the boys. It was a perfect, nearly equal balance that had served them well so far.

                “That’s a stupid idea, even for you.” Sehun’s brother kicked at him and frowned.

                “It’s not stupid. After your bank job we’ll have enough money to make a move.”

                “It’ll be my fucking money, and I’m not going to use it to move against Yixing or Seungri, let alone both of them.” His brother shuffled around a stack of papers on the coffee table, the police patrol information E’dawn had given him. He was working on sorting through it when his brother came home.

                “I take care of you, give you a roof and a job and something to fucking eat and it’ll be your fucking money?” He threw the papers in Sehun’s face and they scattered around the room as if caught on imaginary wind. Mother. Fucker. This was going to take Sehun a million years to clean up and reorganize. He could feel anger bubbling in his chest.

                “Take care of me? I take care of my damn self!” Sehun couldn’t control the rise in his voice, he could tell he was on the verge of yelling. His brother was on his feet in an instant at the tone. A shouting match it was.

                “You wouldn’t even have that job if it wasn’t for me!” Okay, one point to his brother. “And you can’t even take that seriously!” Sehun stepped closer, he probably shouldn’t but none of this should be happening anyway.

                “I take it seriously!” His brother had the nerve to roll his eyes. It only made Sehun that much angrier, fuck him that condescending fuck.

                “Serious enough to spend all of your time chasing a piece of ass! What the fuck is wrong with you?” Sehun wanted to hit him, he really did, but this was getting way off track and he was letting his brother distracted him from the money issue that started this whole fucking thing.

                “And when the hell did you turn into a faggot huh? That kid must give million dollar head.” Fuck it then. Sehun shoved him. It wasn’t as good as punching him in the face but his brother had no balance in his drunken state and he tripped into the cheap coffee table, smashing the legs off one side. Two girls were staring at them with wide eyes from the doorway and Sehun deflated. This was all so stupid.

                “You fucking jackass.” He grumbled it just loud enough for his brother to hear and moved to help him to his feet. His brother hadn’t cooled off nearly as much but he accepted Sehun’s help anyway, only to shove Sehun back as soon as he was steady. Thankfully Sehun was totally sober and barely stumbled at the half-assed attempt to knock him over.

                “Whoever you owe money to, pay it back. I’m serious. I’ll split the money with you just,” Sehun hesitated, sighing and running a hand through his hair. “Just get this power play thing out of your head okay?” His brother was angry still, but not argumentative. He was listening even if he didn’t like what Sehun was saying, leaving Sehun in silence as he dragged the coffee table off to the side, the noise of it like nails on a chalkboard in the heavy tension.

                “We have a good thing going with them. We don’t need a war.” His brother still ignored Sehun. He propped the table pieces against a wall to get them out of the way, adjusting them until he was sure they wouldn’t fall over. It felt like ages before he had anything else to say.

                “Don’t you want to have more than this?” He gestured at their shared apartment and their shitty, broken furniture.

                “We’ll have more than this. I promise I take this job seriously and when it’s over we will.” His brother didn’t help him clean up the scattered papers, didn’t say anything else, and Sehun figured he didn’t stop thinking about that ridiculous war business either.

                As if it wasn’t bad enough trying to tip-toe around his brother, to keep a lid on his sudden ambitions like he was holding the fuse to lit dynamite, Hyuna called them together two days later. Her message was quick and obscure and that meant things were going very well or very bad. With Sehun’s current run of luck it was probably the latter. Ilhoon’s grim face when he met him outside Hyuna and E’dawn’s apartment confirmed his suspicions.

                To make matters even worse, all he wanted to do was touch Ilhoon. Not even sexually, he just wanted to… touch him. Well, sexually too, obviously, he was an active twenty year old after all. But they were walking up the stairs in tense silence and Sehun wished he could grab Ilhoon’s hand or sling an arm around his shoulders. He was like one of those infatuated college kids he played games with and he was doing his absolute best to squash it down.

                Hyuna’s dark stare helped with that. The apartment was so quiet it was almost unnatural. When he and Ilhoon sat on the floor the noise was awkward in the air. Even E’dawn looked worried and he was usually the calmest of them all. Really Bad news then.

                “Someone is tipping the bank off.” Ilhoon tensed next to him. To anyone else Hyuna’s focused gaze would have been accusatory, but it was Ilhoon she was looking at and that meant she was worried.

                “Who?” Ilhoon’s voice seemed small and lost and Sehun absolutely hated it. Hyuna shook her head and looked away.

                “I don’t know. You’ll need to tell the people around the boss something wrong about our plans and we’ll see if it gets out there.” Hyuna buried her face in her hands and E’dawn pulled her into his side. She didn’t lean in though, refusing the comfort as if she didn’t deserve it.

                “Chances are…” She took a moment to continue, “chances are it’s someone who is close to the boss. They aren’t sharing detailed information, just some basic things here and there.” Sehun felt himself shrink back when she looked up to him, tired anger in her eyes.

                “You haven’t said anything to anyone?” He was more surprised than he was offended. He probably shouldn’t have been, he was the new guy after all, but Ilhoon had been with him pretty much everywhere lately and that didn’t give him many chances to run his mouth.

                “No, no one.” He hesitated. “Luna saw the notes about the routes but I didn’t tell her anything specific. She wouldn’t tell anyone.” Hyuna relaxed, finally giving in to E’dawn’s embrace a small fraction.

                “I’ll talk to the boss and see what happens. We can go from there.” Sehun wanted so badly to do something, anything. Ilhoon didn’t sound scared exactly, but he didn’t sound confident either. Hyuna accepted it and there was nothing else to be done, the matter was as settled as it could be for now.

                “Whoever it was tipped them off about the hacking and we get locked out whenever we try.” E’dawn sounded guilty, ashamed even, as if it was somehow his fault. Hyuna nudged him with her shoulder lightly and it seemed to perk him up.

                “We don’t need to be hacked in to the security, necessarily.” Ilhoon tried to be comforting too. It was like E’dawn was the resident puppy and no one wanted to see him sad.

                “It would be exponentially beneficial though.”  Hyuna was the leader for a reason, and emotions be damned. They couldn’t just ignore security because it might hurt E’dawn feelings.

                “If we could get a bug in the manager’s office we could get an idea of the security codes and what they’re doing the old fashioned way.” Sehun thought it was hilarious that Hyuna’s idea of the old fashioned way still included high-end technology. What did people do before stuff like this? Did they just go in guns blazing and hope for the best?

                “The manager is so fucking cautious. How are we going to sneak a bug into his office without drawing attention?” Oh yeah, Sehun remembered manager shiny-suit and his ideas on cheating. What a prick. Ilhoon was right about his suspicious nature but he did seem to like Sehun.

                “I have an idea.” Three pairs of eyes snapped to him in an instant. It almost felt like a physical weight on his chest. Damn these people could be intense when they wanted to be.

                “The manager likes me and they already think my girlfriend might come to bank there.” Hyuna was nodding, brows furrowed in thought. She was working out the details of his plan before he even had a chance to say the whole thing out loud.

                “It’s a good idea but I don’t really want to bring in anyone new while we’re dealing with this person tipping off the bank.” Sehun didn’t want to step on any toes or create any tension. He knew Hyuna and E’dawn were dating but he had to ask anyway, emotions be damned right?

                “You can’t pretend to be my girlfriend?” Thankfully E’dawn only looked amused. Good, Sehun was not looking to get his ass kicked today. E’dawn didn’t seem like the type to kick anyone’s ass, but you never know when it comes to a significant other and Sehun probably wouldn’t fight back, probably.

                “Jinsu is my cousin and we are on… bad terms.” Ilhoon winced at Hyuna’s word choice. Bad blood between family members was something Sehun understood way too well. It definitely didn’t warrant Hyuna’s sudden beaming smile. The whole atmosphere of the room shifted under her happiness.

                “I know who can play Sehun’s girlfriend!” Apparently E’dawn caught on immediately because he was laughing to himself. Both Sehun and Ilhoon remained confused on the floor, exchanging looks, baffled by the change of attitude. It was as if someone had flipped a switch on the other two.

                “What? Who?” Hyuna just kept smiling at Ilhoon like a psychopath, as if that would answer his question. After a solid minute of silence it must have because Ilhoon’s eyebrows shot up.

                “No. Noona, no. I mean it.” She cocked her head and pouted, aegyo in full force. It didn’t faze Ilhoon but E’dawn was off the couch and down the hall in an instant, because whatever the fuck was happening right now apparently warranted that course of action.

                “It’s the only way. Think of the team Ilhoon.” When he didn’t immediately protest against the logic Hyuna took it as agreement. She was dragging him to his feet before Sehun even realized she was off the couch. Well fuck, he wasn’t going to be the only one still sitting so he scrambled to stand as well.

                “What’s going on?” No one answered him. Ilhoon flat out refused to meet his eyes so he couldn’t even beg silently.

                “You’re really tall.” Something about the way Hyuna said it made Sehun very uncomfortable. The image of Hyuna wearing a Sehun-suit popped in his head. She probably wouldn’t skin him to make a suit but seriously, with that evil glint in her eyes maybe the fear was warranted. He folded his arms over his chest as if that would protect him.

                “Uh… yeah.” She patted Ilhoon on the shoulder and he scowled in her direction.

                “Ilhoon looks so short next to you.” Sehun had to be an idiot right? All of those times Ilhoon had looked at him like he was a dumbass made sense because apparently he was one. He had no fucking clue where Hyuna was going with this. Then E’dawn held a dress up to Ilhoon’s body. Oh. Ilhoon was flushed all the way to his ears, face so pissy he looked like an irritated cat in a bath. He snatched the dress away from E’dawn lightning fast and Sehun couldn’t fully make out what the dress looked like.

                “Aw, c’mon baby. Don’t be like that.” Ilhoon glared at him.

                “Don’t you fucking start.” Sehun put his hands up in surrender but as Ilhoon stomped past him to the bathroom he just couldn’t help himself.

                “I’m here if you need me to zip you up, sweetheart.” Ilhoon flipped him off and slammed the door. It rattled through the whole apartment but instead of sounding angry and tense it only added to the light hearted laughter the living room was filled with. Something about laughing with Hyuna and E’dawn made him feel like he belonged here, like he was accepted... maybe even like he was among friends if he was feeling generous.

                “You guys get along really well, I’m glad.” Hyuna was smiling but she was somewhere else too, lost in her own head. Sehun wanted to ask why, he always wanted to ask questions, but he was learning some things were best not asked about.

                “Yeah, me too.” It seemed to satisfy her. Too bad their moment was cut off by a loud bark of laughter from E’dawn, then Hyuna when she caught sight of Ilhoon. He was grimacing as he made his way to them, adjusting the dress uncomfortably. It was bright pink and tight on his waist, probably too tight considering it was Hyuna’s, but the flared bottom and loose top fit okay. He didn’t waste even a second before turning his back to Sehun. The smooth skin of his bare shoulders caught Sehun off guard.

                “Well? Zip me up.” Sehun did, slower than he should have. The zipper sounded way too sexy. Honestly though, Sehun definitely preferred Ilhoon out of this dress. Not naked. In clothes. In his normal clothes. Hyuna checked over the fit, running fingers over seams and twirling the skirt. What she was checking for exactly Sehun had no idea.

                “It’s good. Not too uncomfortable.” Ilhoon opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut when Hyuna gave him a look.

                “It looks good.” E’dawn sounded like maybe he was actually trying to compliment him but Ilhoon didn’t take it that way. He huffed and crossed his arms.

                “I’ll just work on some,” Hyuna motioned to the chest of the dress and smirked at Ilhoon, “accessories and what not. Come by tomorrow and we’ll get you all dressed up.” Ilhoon sighed, resigned to the idea that tomorrow he would be Tiffany.

                He had that same resigned look on his face the next day, it was distant eyes and tight lips. He was just staring blankly at the door when Sehun got there, like he was struggling with himself. Sehun could feel the mental battle before he even got to the top of the stairs. Ilhoon reached up to the door knob, dropped his hand, reached up again, dropped his hand again.

                “Might as well get it over with.” He jumped and turned to Sehun, hand to his chest like being startled was going to give him a heart attack. He already had the over-dramatic attitude of Sehun’s pretend girlfriend that was for damn sure.

                “I don’t want to.” Sehun reached for the knob but Ilhoon stopped him with a gentle grip on the wrist. “Just one more minute.” Sehun chuckled at him but obliged anyway.

                “Of all the things involved in robbing a bank this is what you’re scared of?” Ilhoon hadn’t let go of his wrist, holding on to it like a life-line, his hand was hot against Sehun’s skin. It probably didn’t help that he was flushed with embarrassment.

                “I’m not scared.” It came out cranky and quiet.

                “I don’t know what you’re worried about. You’ve already made a great Tiffany once.” Ilhoon finally let go, crossing his arms over his chest in attempt to make himself smaller.

                “I’m a guy, you know?” Sehun snorted, images of Ilhoon shirtless and moaning above him flooded his mind before he could stop them.

                “Trust me, I am well aware.” Ilhoon must have been thinking something very similar to Sehun because his a smile flicked across his lips and he met Sehun’s eyes for the first time. Sehun didn’t realize how close they were standing until this moment. Or maybe the sudden heat from his vivid memory was making the room feel smaller. Whatever, he was definitely close enough that he could lean forward and… do nothing. Not a thing.

                “It’s erh,” Ilhoon started but shifted awkwardly as he found his words. “Would you like it better if I was a girl?” Ilhoon was refusing to meet his eyes again. To Sehun he looked like a baby deer about to flee at the first sign of trouble.

                “No.” And Sehun meant it. Maybe he had thought about what would be different If Ilhoon was a girl, but it was only in passing and he hadn’t even really considered it. He liked Ilhoon. Full stop. Ilhoon was looking at his feet but he was smiling. Sehun had the self-control of fucking monk because if he didn’t he would be kissing Ilhoon so hard. Ilhoon took one step closer to him, looked up, and opened his mouth to say something.

                “Are you guys going to come in or what?” Sehun hadn’t even heard E’dawn open the door. Neither had Ilhoon because he had that same startled expression from earlier when Sehun had snuck up on him.

                “Oh, uhm, yeah.” They followed E’dawn back into the apartment where Hyuna was waiting impatiently, an array of clothes and make-up laid out across their couch. Hyuna thrust the pink dress from yesterday in Ilhoon’s direction and he accepted it like the greatest burden one could carry before sulking to the bathroom to change.

                “What were you doing out there anyway?” Hyuna’s tone was clipped and irritated but E’dawn stood next to her with a silly grin and it softened her harshness. Sehun wondered if maybe E’dawn had heard them talking, wondered what he could piece together from what they said. He even started to wonder if it would be so bad to have Hyuna and E’dawn know about whatever it was he and Ilhoon had.

                “Ilhoon was just stalling. He’s scared to wear a dress.” Ilhoon didn’t like Sehun’s answer because he called out from the bathroom “I am not!”

                “Is too.” Sehun tried to whisper it to Hyuna and E’dawn, both of which seemed pretty damn amused by the whole thing. Ilhoon not so much. He flung the bathroom door open and marched over to them with purpose.

                “I am not, now zip me up.” Sehun did, quicker than last time. He had enough sexy thoughts for one day thank you very much.

                “Here, put these on. It’ll make your legs look more feminine.” Ilhoon lost any fight he had left in him at the sight of the black tights. He just let himself be commanded by Hyuna. Sehun stood uselessly next to E’dawn like they were spectators. Honestly this could be a sport. One point for every shred of dignity Hyuna managed to take from Ilhoon. One for the wig, the black tights making his legs look even thinner than they were, the tailored suit jacket that accentuated a slim waist. Before Hyuna could even get to the make-up Ilhoon looked like an entirely different person.

                “Sit here, I’ll do your makeup.” She forced Ilhoon into a dining chair that had no matching dining set. “And grab Sehun some other clothes.” Sehun had really tried to wear something bank-appropriate, but looking down at his plain black tee he could feel it screaming ‘I do crime!’ back at him. He had a specific style tailored to what he did, so what? E’dawn handed him a sweater from a pile of clothes next to the couch emblazoned with an all caps ‘Balenciaga’.

                “So you’re a hacker?” Sehun could do small talk. It was either that or deal with the total silence as he stripped his shirt off. He yanked the sweater down over his head with less care than something this expensive deserved, but E’dawn had it on the floor so he figured it wasn’t handled with a lot of care even on its best days.

                “Yeah, I work in IT too.” Was that code for something? Sehun knew next to nothing about cyber-crime.

                “IT?” E’dawn gave him a confused look and tilted his head just slightly. He was like a small terrier whose owner just asked some question the dog couldn’t even begin to understand. Why did everyone around him make it their life’s mission to make him feel like a fucking idiot?

                “Information Technology. I work for the school.” E’dawn handed Sehun a fancy leather belt. He also had a regular job. How weird was that? Weird enough that Sehun had totally dismissed a normal IT job. He was probably making enough to live on only ramen working at the underfunded, barely functioning school in the slums. Why bother if you’re going to rob banks and earn enough to live on Korean beef? There was a long stretch of silence between them while Sehun worked over the idea of normal employment and fiddle with the elaborate buckle.

                “Did you two hear about the Boss’ card game coming up?” Hyuna took the silence as an end to their stilted small talk. That was fine with him. A card game sounded much better than working IT and he most certainly hadn’t heard about it. The look E’dawn was giving Hyuna said he hadn’t either.

                “You didn’t tell me about it.” E’dawn’s neutral tone made it hard to tell if he was hurt or surprised, but it for sure sounded strained. Hyuna didn’t even look over. She was fixated on applying mascara.

                “I just heard a rumor about it this morning from Sunmi. Stop closing your eyes.” Ilhoon flinched again when she brought the mascara wand closer. Sehun didn’t blame him.

                “What did you hear?”

                “I heard that some rich couple from Gangnam have been looking to throw money into a high stakes game.” She applied a thick gloss to Ilhoon’s lips, biting her own to help her concentrate.

                “And the boss is going to arrange that game?”

                “Yeah he is.” Ilhoon chimed in this time, sounding very sure of his answer.

                “He told you?” Hyuna sounded surprised, but only mildly so. Not enough to distract her from plucking at stray hairs in Ilhoon’s dark wig.

                “Yeah. We’re all invited.” E’dawn scoffed and rested a heavy hand on Sehun’s shoulder.

                “Invited means we’re going whether we want to or not.” Ilhoon shrugged like that didn’t matter at all.

                “It’s free food, champagne, and card games.” Ilhoon did have a point. Hyuna had finished and was accessing her work. Sehun knew that look, the one where Hyuna and Ilhoon lock eyes. They were saying something he and E’dawn couldn’t hear.

                “We wouldn’t leave you to go alone anyway.” Her voice was quiet but some unknown tension eased in Ilhoon. Sehun didn’t like the thought of Ilhoon going alone either, didn’t like the idea that they’d leave him at the mercy of the boss if they had an opportunity not to.

                “Alright, all done!” Ilhoon was awkward, standing like he was uncomfortable in his skin. It was warranted because holy shit he looked like a different person. He looked like a girl. He twisted the silk scarf Hyuna had given him to hide his Adam’s apple as if that would somehow make everything normal.

                “You can’t be so unnatural if you’re going to fool a bank full of people.” He was glaring at Hyuna and grinding his teeth. Sehun took matters into his own hands, and by matters he meant Ilhoon’s shoulders, spinning the smaller man away from their fearless leader.

                “Alright baby, channel your inner bitch because Tiffany is grade A.” Ilhoon huffed at him and stuffed the front of Sehun’s sweater into his pants, fancy French tuck style. Sehun tried very hard not to think about Ilhoon’s fingers and how close they were to his dick.

                “Don’t call me baby.”

                “What do you prefer? Sweetie, honey? Pumpkin?” Ilhoon ducked out of Sehun’s grasp and slung the designer purse, Gucci, over his shoulder. He barely gave a backwards glance before he was heading for the door.

                “How about her royal highness Tiffany Kim the second?” Sehun slapped his ass on the way out for good measure. If Ilhoon had to get into his role it couldn’t hurt to be a tiny bit more of a shithead himself.

                “Whatever you want princess.”


	13. Work Work Work

                “We should have a plan.” Ilhoon mumbled around a lip-gloss wand, staring at his own reflection in the small visor mirror. He had chewed off the lip-gloss and re-applied it twice already. He was either nervous or horribly uncomfortable, maybe both. If Sehun had to guess he’d say it was both.

                “What do you suggest?” Ilhoon jammed the wand back into the tube and grumbled under his breath about how stupid makeup was. It was a small action that was way way too familiar to Sehun, most of the girls he drove around did the same thing. It wasn’t only Ilhoon who was uncomfortable at the situation they were in, the familiarity sat weird with Sehun.

                “I don’t know, fuck. We need to get into the manager’s office somehow.” Ilhoon checked over the smooth, round microphone E’dawn had given them. It was mostly inconspicuous but Sehun doubted they could stick it just anywhere.

                “How about we play it by ear? We can see how they act and then… act accordingly?” It wasn’t the best plan, but Sehun knew when people were involved it required some degree of flexibility. They had no solid idea how the manager or Jinsu would react.

                “Okay, yeah.” Ilhoon was cool with no rigid plan? Alright then, going in guns blazing like American movie stars it was. Sure, instead of guns they were going in with charm and personality, but Sehun was confident those could be just as deadly when in the right hands.

                Jinsu’s glare was pretty fucking deadly too. Sehun guided Ilhoon into the bank with a hand on the small of his back, Ilhoon only sort of allowing it, his face painted with exasperation. Jinsu was advancing on them before they even made it through the lobby. Thankfully her angry scowl morphed into a customer-service megawatt smile when she addressed Ilhoon. Tiffany. In English.

                “How can I help you today?” Sehun was panicking, his fist tight in Ilhoon’s dress. Ilhoon was very clearly more experienced than him in the high-end crime business because he waved his hand at her dismissively, aloof.

                “Don’t speak in English to me. My Korean is perfect and your English sounds like a garbled mess.” Well, he definitely sounded like a rich bitch who thought nothing of the staff helping her. Jinsu was caught off guard, flushed red in embarrassment and stuttering over her words in response.

                “Oh.. uhm I –“ Ilhoon shifted on his hips and crossed his arms. The look on his face said ‘my time is money and you’re fucking wasting it’. Jinsu looked down at her feet, intimidated. Sehun pulled Ilhoon flush against his side and kissed his temple.

                “Sweetheart, don’t be so hard on the staff huh?” Ilhoon pushed him away but didn’t fully break Sehun’s hold on his back and mumbled just loud enough for Jinsu to hear.

                “Being hard on the staff is your job right?”

                “Are you ever going to let it go? It was once, it was a mistake, I said I was sorry.” Ilhoon huffed and stared Jinsu down.

                “And you can tell me he didn’t flirt with you just like every other pretty teller?” Jinsu might throw up. Her face was an amusement park ride of emotion. She was partly flattered that Ilhoon thought she was pretty, super uncomfortable about being confronted, and under pressure to make the client happy but intensely worried that Ilhoon’s volatile personality would make that impossible. She fumbled, adjusted her name tag, and eventually gave Ilhoon the answer he was looking for.

                “Uhm, well. I uhm… I’ll get the manager.”

                “You do that.” Sehun resisted smiling, he couldn’t imagine this was a situation Tiffany’s boyfriend would smile about, but things were working out better than he hoped. Manager shiny-suit came up to them, all professional posture and perfect tone of voice.

                “How can I help you, miss?” Ilhoon took a small step away from Sehun, not too far, but far enough that the manager noticed. Sehun saw his eyes flick down to Ilhoon’s legs for a fraction of a second.

                “My boyfriend keeps insisting that I bank here. He’s been touting the great security and wonderful staff but I had to see it for myself.” The manager motioned to some chairs in the lobby.

                “Why don’t we sit down and talk about it?” His business tone dropped too far into business-casual for Sehun’s liking. Ilhoon led the way and the manager checked out his ass. What a fucking scumbag. When Sehun tried to follow Ilhoon turned to stop him with a hand on the chest.

                “You wait over there.” Sehun looked between his pretend girlfriend and the manager. He didn’t want to leave Ilhoon alone with this sketchy dickhead. Ilhoon was trying his best to convey ‘trust me’ with his eyes though, at least that’s what Sehun thought he was saying, so Sehun eventually retreated to Jinsu’s teller window to wait.

                “Don’t trust her?” Jinsu was too smug. Damn, she really didn’t like Sehun. Whatever, he wouldn’t like him either in her shoes.

                “I don’t trust him.” Jinsu straightened some papers absently, refusing to look over at the manager and Ilhoon even for a second.

                “Yeah, you shouldn’t.” Poor girl. She didn’t deserve to be betrayed by a guy like that. Or maybe she did. Sehun didn’t know her. Hyuna had said there was bad blood between them so maybe Jinsu was a terrible, awful person. It was probably more likely the person who robbed banks for a living was the bad person but who knows?

                Ilhoon laughed at something the manager said and it caught Sehun’s attention. It also caught his attention that Ilhoon pushed on the manager’s shoulder playfully and smiled a flirty smile from under his stupid, fake lashes. Sehun was tapping on the granite counter with increasing force until Jinsu put a pen in his hand.

                “Stop tapping, play around with the pen quietly instead.” So he did, twirling it between his fingers as he desperately tried not to pay attention to the manager putting a stray hair behind Ilhoon’s ear like he was in a bad movie, or the way Ilhoon leaned forward to rest on an elbow and pout cutely, or the way the manager’s hand found its way to Ilhoon’s knee. The pen snapped in half. So apparently that was some very real jealousy Sehun was feeling.

                Ilhoon glared in his direction and the manager made eye contact with him. He smirked and Sehun’s heartrate ticked up. That motherfucker. Then Ilhoon whispered something in the manager’s ear and the manager smirked even harder. Sehun told himself this was not real and he had no reason to hit the manager in his stupid, smirky face. The next thing Sehun knew manager was leading Ilhoon to his office, Ilhoon stared him down. God damn Sehun wished he was better at reading facial cues. The door clicking shut behind them was one of the worst sounds Sehun had ever heard, and he lived in a fucking brothel.

                “Maybe you should… uhm…” Jinsu hesitated, glancing at the door and back, “maybe you should go check on them?”

                “Good idea.” It came out unintentionally as a growl. He didn’t even need to act, he had this pissed off thing down no problem. He whipped the door open with more strength than necessary and was greeted with the sight of the manager holding tight on Ilhoon’s waist, leaning in while Ilhoon leaned away. Ilhoon looked very unhappy at just how forward the manager was being, and very happy that Sehun had picked that moment to barge in.

                “Give us a minute.” There was that stupid growl he couldn’t control. This whole thing was going way off the rails. The manager released Ilhoon, intimidated by the angry boyfriend, and snuck past Sehun the best he could. Ilhoon was on him, arms around his neck, the second the door snapped close.

                “Don’t look, but there is a new camera in the left corner.” Sehun ran his hands up Ilhoon’s sides slowly and buried his face in the junction of Ilhoon’s neck and shoulder.

                “What should we do?” Ilhoon was hesitating, buying time by trailing his hands down Sehun’s back and around to his chest. Sehun circled Ilhoon with his arms, pulling Ilhoon into what he hoped looked like a loving embrace.

                “Ehm… The desk.” Ilhoon fiddled with something while his hands where hidden against Sehun. The bug.

                “Just uhm, we should make out on the desk.” Sehun didn’t need to be told twice. His mouth was against Ilhoon’s in an instant. It was heated and tasted like raspberry. Sehun hated that. He shoved his tongue into Ilhoon’s mouth with no preamble and Ilhoon moaned into him. He liked the way Ilhoon tasted much better than the horrible lip-gloss. He gripped Ilhoon’s ass harder than he should and backed him against the manager’s desk. He heard the scrape of wood against the floor and felt Ilhoon smile into the kiss.

                He kept his body flush against Ilhoon’s as he swiped the manager’s name plate and whatever the hell else was in their way over to the side of the desk, careful not to throw anything to the floor and attract attention. Ilhoon couldn’t stop the light bubble of laughter that broke their kiss.

                “Eager?” Ilhoon whispered the words across his lips and Sehun pulled back enough for them to look at each other, putting an inch of space between them. Ilhoon was flushed even through the foundation Hyuna had put on him. Sehun took a minute to smile at him and move his hands from Ilhoon’s ass to his waist, holding on tightly. Ilhoon let out a startled squeak when Sehun used that hold to hoist him onto the desk. He seriously needed to gain a little weight or something, or maybe Sehun was stronger than he thought. Whatever, there were more important things to worry about right now.

                His mouth was back on Ilhoon’s, working roughly against it as he stepped between Ilhoon’s legs. His hands found the sides of Ilhoon’s face and the smaller man whimpered that tiny, desperate whimper that went straight to Sehun’s dick. They were here for a reason. They were here for work. This was not a fun make out time. This was work time. Ilhoon bit down gently on Sehun’s bottom lip and swiped his tongue across it and Sehun’s mantra was cut off by his own groan. Work. Work. He moved to work at Ilhoon’s neck, just below his ear.

                “Let’s plant that fucking bug already.” Before Ilhoon could reply Sehun pushed him down across the desk. Ilhoon’s legs came up around Sehun’s waist and Sehun wondered for a brief second if it was involuntary. Either way it had Sehun thinking about those legs around his waist in a different setting and this was not the time God damnit. He kissed at Ilhoon’s collarbone and pushed his arms up over his head. Ilhoon gripped the edge of the desk, adjusting himself and arching his back. His fingers slipped underneath the finished wood.

                “Done.” Sehun kissed down his chest and let his hand wander to a fake breast. He jolted up, overcome with shocked laughter. Grabbing a boob use to be so hot but now it turned him off like a faulty light bulb. Ilhoon didn’t think it was very fucking funny. He propped himself up on his elbows and gave Sehun a dirty look.

                “What?” Sehun rested his face in Ilhoon’s belly, thumbs circling his hipbones as he calmed down.

                “It felt so real, what the hell?” He mumbled it into bunched fabric and Ilhoon rolled his eyes. Sehun had a moment of realization of just where he was, almost on his knees between Ilhoon’s legs, and decided now was a very good time to get out of here. He stood and hauled Ilhoon off the desk to his feet. Ilhoon did his best to straighten his clothes but it was pointless, he looked thoroughly debauched. Sehun could stand to see that look on him more often. He settled for a chaste peck on the lips.

                The manager chose that time to open the door, disturbed like he had seen the whole thing. He probably had, watching from the security camera. Sehun wanted to strangle the little prick.

                “Are you just about done in here?” The manager’s tone suggested that they were done whether they wanted to be or not. Ilhoon pushed past him like he owned the fucking bank, nose in the air. Sehun followed like the good boyfriend he was. He smirked at Jinsu’s embarrassed face as Ilhoon stormed through the lobby. That look said she had watched too.

                When Sehun went to drop Ilhoon at his apartment they sat in silence. Sehun wished he had something to say, he didn’t want to leave yet, but he couldn’t exactly ask to come upstairs. Could he? Ilhoon sighed a complicated sigh and reached for the door handle only to stop before he opened the door.

                “Do you want to come up and watch a movie or something?” Ilhoon was going for casual but it was soaked in so many convoluted emotions it was anything but. Sehun was not going to turn him down, not when Ilhoon had basically asked exactly what Sehun was trying to find the courage to.

                “Yeah, sure.” Sehun wasn’t any better at sounding casual than Ilhoon was but whatever, they were dealing with some intricate post make out feelings right now. Despite everything the silence between them as they walked up to Ilhoon’s apartment was surprisingly easy and comfortable.

                “What the fuck?” The thug said it through boisterous laughter as soon as they walked through the door. Sehun was not expecting it, he was expecting something a lot more… mean and pushy from the day’s resident muscle. This guy was just lying on the couch, open bag of shrimp chips on his lap while the tv blared. Ilhoon was torn between exasperated and embarrassed.

                “It was for work!” The guy was laughing so hard tears were forming. Ilhoon had enough of it and latched firmly on to Sehun’s elbow, a preamble to dragging him away.

                “Sehun, this is Doojoon, Doojoon, Sehun. We’re going to watch a movie.” They were already half way down the hall towards Ilhoon’s room before Ilhoon was done talking. It didn’t stop Doojoon from calling after him like an old-fashioned father.

                “Door open, young lady!” Ilhoon slammed the door to spite him. Sehun was laughing when Ilhoon rounded on him, angry eyes burning into Sehun’s soul. It made him laugh even harder.

                “What? It was funny!” Ilhoon was grumbling to himself as he jerked at his tights, trying to get them off as quickly as possible. One hard tug resulted in both a loud tearing noise and Ilhoon ripping the rest of the tights off in frustration.

                “How do girls wear these?” Sehun pulled the wig off Ilhoon’s head and tossed it on to the desk.

                “Practice. You should wash your face.” Ilhoon gave a forlorn look to the door he had slammed in protest, sad that he had to decide between his pride and a clean face.

                “The laptop is on the desk, find something to watch while I do.” Sehun wanted to not watch a movie, but he also knew that the alternative wasn’t really a possibility outside of work. They needed to find more ways to work like that in the future. He flipped open the laptop and he was doing his best to be a good guy and not search through Ilhoon’s stuff. He didn’t have any interesting folders on his desktop so he had no excuse. Not that interesting folders were an excuse. Sehun opened the internet and picked some random comedy, whatever it was that the service recommended.

                “Find anything?”

                “Yeah.” Sehun positioned the laptop carefully on the desk, it was across from the bed so they could just sit against the headboard and not make out. Ilhoon was still in that dumb dress, but his face was washed and he was looking a lot more like himself. He turned his back to Sehun.

                “Unzip me?” Sehun was resisting so many urges right now, one to tell Ilhoon no, another to kiss Ilhoon on the back of the neck. Instead he just unzipped him, slowly, to reveal an expanse of pale skin dotted with moles. When the zipper was all the way down Ilhoon didn’t turn around, lost in thought. Sehun used the opportunity to slide his arms around Ilhoon’s frame in a delicate back-hug, light enough that Ilhoon could pull away if he wanted to.

                Instead Ilhoon rested his arms across Sehun’s and leaned into him. Sehun squeezed tighter. When Ilhoon didn’t push against it Sehun let his lips brush Ilhoon’s shoulder, then his neck when Ilhoon tipped his head to the side. When Sehun broke the embrace and let his hands wander into the dress, grazing against the skin of Ilhoon’s stomach, Ilhoon finally stopped him.

                “Wait, we can’t.” Sehun backed off. He was a master of self-control. He was a Buddhist monk sitting under a cold waterfall. His half-hard dick did not get the message, but otherwise Sehun did his best not to pressure Ilhoon. He refused to be anything like… someone else in Ilhoon’s life. It sort of made him feel better that Ilhoon looked more angry about having to stop than he did. There was a rapid knock on the door.

                “Hey Ilhoon, you decent?” Sehun’s boner was officially killed at Doojoon’s voice. Ilhoon opened the door half-way.

                “Yeah, what?” Doojoon seemed unfazed by Ilhoon’s bitchy tone.

                “You guys are watching a movie in here right?” Ilhoon nodded and Sehun was doing his very best to either will this guy away with his mind or appreciate the moment to cool down before Ilhoon took any more clothes off in front of him.

                “It’s cool if I have some guys over to watch the game then?”

                “I don’t care.” Ilhoon was already shutting the door on Doojoon.

                “Thanks!” Ilhoon thunked his head hard against the door as soon as it latched. His breathing just ragged enough that Sehun could hear it in the quiet. Good to know he wasn’t the only one horny beyond belief.

                “Fuck it.” Sehun opened his mouth to ask fuck what exactly but the words were stopped by Ilhoon’s tongue. The kiss was rough and frantic, it matched Sehun’s mood perfectly. He tugged desperately on the shoulders of that motherfucking dress.

                “Off. Now.” He didn’t mean for it to sound like a command, but his head was almost spinning at the suddenness of it all. Ilhoon shoved him back on to the bed with a harsh push and Sehun had a moment of panic where he thought he’d gone too far. Then he was met with the sight of Ilhoon almost naked, in nothing but black underwear. It was men’s underwear, trunk style, but definitely men’s. Why did he think Ilhoon would be wearing panties?

                He didn’t have any time to ponder it before Ilhoon was kissing his belly button, pushing his sweater up his chest. Fuck that. Sehun stripped it off in one motion. Ilhoon laughed against his skin but didn’t stop kissing at Sehun’s abdomen, moving over to a hip, then at the top of his jeans. Sehun heard the clinking of his belt being undone.

                “Can I?” Sehun’s brain wasn’t exactly sure what Ilhoon was asking but Sehun’s dick didn’t fucking care.

                “Fuck yes.” Ilhoon jerked Sehun’s jeans down and off, straddling his lap a second later. Sehun thanked his dick for agreeing and sat up enough to seal their lips back together. Ilhoon’s hands were on his face, holding Sehun against his mouth. The kissing was a little less frenzied this time, it was slower and more deliberate. Sehun’s grip around his waist forced Ilhoon’s body tight against his own, but he wanted more.

                He flipped them over on the bed, pinning Ilhoon underneath him. Ilhoon moaned into their kiss right before Sehun broke it, moving his mouth to Ilhoon’s chest, dragging a hand across one of Ilhoon’s nipples. Sehun felt a small jolt of victory when Ilhoon made his favorite soft whimpering sound. When Sehun kissed down to one of Ilhoon’s hips Ilhoon buried his face in his own arms.

                “Do people usually see you without a shirt?” Ilhoon peeked out from under folded elbows to give Sehun a confused look that was too fucking cute.

                “What? No, never.” Sehun sucked at Ilhoon’s hipbone and Ilhoon whimpered again.

                “Can I?”

                “Yeah.” Ilhoon’s voice was breathy and barely there but at least he seemed to know what Sehun was asking. Sehun worked a small spot into Ilhoon’s flesh, sucking and biting, until he was satisfied it would stay. Ilhoon was a groaning mess underneath him. Sehun moved back up, pulling Ilhoon’s arms off of his face.

                “You okay?” Sehun was a little smug, sure, but he didn’t deserve the glare Ilhoon was giving him. Well maybe he did a little. Ilhoon responded by locking legs around Sehun and thrusting up against him. Sehun’s brain temporarily short circuited. He was brought back to reality by fingers against his scalp, tugging at his hair, and teeth against his shoulder.

                He rolled his hips down to meet Ilhoon’s thrusts, painfully aware there were only two thin layers of fabric between them. He tried to focus on fingertips trailing from his hair to his shoulders to distract himself. They were moaning through gasping breaths, his own deep groans mixing with Ilhoon’s soft mewling, and the sound had him on the edge. There was a sting of pain when Ilhoon dug fingernails into his back, pulling Sehun’s full weight down. It was enough to give Sehun a moment of clarity.

                They were not in a cramped car with limited space. He pulled himself off of Ilhoon enough that he could reach down between them, Ilhoon tried to open his mouth to protest but Sehun cut him off with a deep kiss and circled fingers around his cock. Ilhoon arched into him and whined, the fingernails bit in just a little more.

                “Oh God, Sehun, please.” The words were desperate and unclear, but Ilhoon writhing under him as Sehun stroked him was a message well received. He felt Ilhoon’s heels against his ass, pulling Sehun closer. Fuck, Sehun could come just from the image of Ilhoon pleading for him. He buried his face in Ilhoon’s neck and closed his eyes.

                “Wait wait, I’m close.” Ilhoon was shoving him away, kicking at him. It wasn’t violent by any means, but it was forceful enough that Sehun backed away, kneeling on the bed over Ilhoon. Ilhoon who was laying sprawled across the bed, cock out, and looking angry for no reason. Sehun couldn’t stop his laughter.

                “Isn’t that the point?” Then Ilhoon was grabbing at Sehun’s waistband, jerking the offending fabric down. Sehun’s cock sprang free and there was a moment where Ilhoon just processed it.

                “You’re really big…” He knew not everyone appreciated his size and Sehun wasn’t sure if Ilhoon meant it in a positive or negative way. He backed even further away involuntarily, insecurity creeping through his chest like frost.

                “Uh… yeah.” It sounded lame even to his own ears but Ilhoon didn’t notice, occupied with tugging Sehun’s underwear even farther down.

                “Off.” It was deep and gritty and Sehun’s cock twitched at Ilhoon’s desperation. So Ilhoon definitely appreciated his size. His brain just couldn’t fucking help itself though.

                “Eager?” Ilhoon rolled his eyes but was smiling anyway, still trying his best to encourage Sehun to take off his damn underwear. Sehun pushed him back so Ilhoon was laying down and Ilhoon didn’t fight him. Instead he grabbed onto the slats of his wooden headboard the best he could, as if his hands would disobey him if he wasn’t grabbing on to something, and watched Sehun with hungry eyes. Sehun trailed his hands down Ilhoon’s body, starting at his arms where they were flexed from their tight grip. Ilhoon giggled when Sehun grazed an armpit and a smile spread across Sehun’s face at the adorableness of it. He made his way down Ilhoon’s sides, over the mark he made earlier on Ilhoon’s hip, and to Ilhoon’s underwear, fingers catching on the fabric. He didn’t stop there, pulling the underwear as he continued down Ilhoon’s legs.

                “Hurry the fuck up already!” Ilhoon attempted to finish getting his underwear off by using his toes, he did succeed, but he also kicked Sehun in the chest. Sehun gasped, suddenly short of breath, and Ilhoon was sitting up in a flash.

                “Oh shit, I’m sorry. Are you okay?” He had a hand over Sehun’s heart, as if more pressure would somehow make it better, but he looked so worried Sehun couldn’t be mad. He laced their fingers and held Ilhoon’s hand in place. When he finally caught his breath he managed a throaty laugh.

                “I’m fine.” Ilhoon released a tense breath Sehun didn’t know he was holding and rested his forehead against Sehun’s collarbone.

                “Way to kill the mood.” Ilhoon was quiet and self-deprecating, but he was chuckling too. The mood was very much not killed for Sehun, in fact Ilhoon’s enthusiasm turned him on more than anything else, even if he did get kicked in the chest for it. Ilhoon was still hard, and when Sehun reached over to grip his cock Ilhoon moaned into Sehun’s collarbone so Sehun doubted the mood was killed for him either. He stroked Ilhoon slowly at first, just enough pressure to have him whining and panting.

                “I’d say the mood is alive and well.” Ilhoon laughed a single sharp laugh through his labored breathing. When he reached for Sehun’s dick to reciprocate Sehun stopped him, pulling Ilhoon’s arms around his shoulders.

                “Let me.” Ilhoon nodded, keeping his arms where Sehun had put them. Sehun managed to slide his own underwear off a lot more gracefully than Ilhoon had, and once they were off he moved to lay Ilhoon on his back one more time. Hopefully this time he wouldn’t get kicked in the damn chest.

                He settled himself between Ilhoon’s legs, leaving just enough space between them for his hand. He never really thought about the size of his hands before, but right now he could fit both of their cocks in one and he was appreciative as hell. He tried his best to circle his other arm under Ilhoon, it was easier when Ilhoon arched against him to give him space.

                He stroked them together, precum giving him a perfect, slick friction. Beneath him Ilhoon was getting increasingly determined to get off. His legs were locked around Sehun’s waist again and he was using the leverage to thrust up into Sehun’s hand.

                “Ah… Fuck, I’m close. Sehunnie Please.” He was begging, his moans a garbled mess of whispered words and whining breaths. Sehun felt himself tensing at the sound, hand movements growing erratic and frantic, his hips jerking forward to make up for it. Ilhoon squeezed Sehun, arms still around his neck where Sehun had put them, and Sehun felt him tense as he came.

                He kissed Ilhoon roughly, it was sloppy, barely a kiss, and it was broken a second later when Sehun himself came across Ilhoon’s belly with a low groan. Neither moved, their bodies a tangled mess of worn out limbs, until their heavy breathing evened out and their sweat cooled on their skin. Ilhoon shivered and attempted to pull his arms under Sehun for warmth. Sehun chuckled, kissed the side of his head, and pulled back to sit on the bed.

                It was a mistake. Ilhoon was laying there in front of him, completely naked and worn out, covered in come. How was he going to live after this? He was going to see this image every day of his life from here on out and he was going to be hard one hundred percent of the time. His dick twitched valiantly and Sehun willed himself off the bed.

                “Where’s your bathroom?” Ilhoon was groggy, already sleepy and comfortable in bed. He wouldn’t be if that come dried on his stomach though.

                “Uh wha-? Oh, it’s just across the hall.” Sehun pulled his underwear and pants on, didn’t bother to do them up, and snuck across the hall to the bathroom. There was a loud tv announcer saying something about a play and the people in the living room were yelling over it, distracted from everything around them. Thank every God because he and Ilhoon weren’t exactly trying to be quiet.

                He did his best to wash up quickly. Running a damp cloth over his face first, then his body. It wasn’t as good as a shower, but this would have to do for now. Maybe next time he and Ilhoon could shower together, if no one was breathing down their necks like shitty guardians that is. His mind wandered between an image of fucking against the shower wall and playing in the water, washing each other’s hair. He shook his head as if he could physically clear it and got a new washcloth, running it under hot water.

                When he returned to Ilhoon’s room the smaller man was up…ish. He was sitting up against the headboard, eyes closed and almost asleep. Sehun wanted to be a nice guy, he did, he really really did, but… He dropped the wet cloth on to Ilhoon’s stomach with a loud clap. Ilhoon jolted awake and shot him a murderous look. Sehun bent down to kiss him quickly on the lips.

                “C’mon baby, clean up and put some clothes on.” Ilhoon swiped the cloth across his stomach.

                “Don’t call me baby.” It wasn’t playful this time. It was serious and hurt and it made Sehun freeze, hands still on his belt where he was buckling it up.

                “Sorry… I…” He wasn’t sure how to finish it. He was battling with himself about what he was sorry for exactly. Did Ilhoon hate it because they didn’t have that kind of relationship? They were just coworkers who also happened to fool around? He felt his chest tighten at the thought. God damn he had it bad.

                “It’s just…” Ilhoon looked away, moving to grab clean clothes from the closet. “That’s what the boss calls me.” The words came out almost too fast for Sehun to understand them, but he did and he felt like someone dumped cold water on him. Ilhoon had finished tugging on a worn pair of jeans before he realized Sehun had frozen in place. There was a long stretch of burdensome quiet where they were both trying to figure out what to do exactly, neither one able to figure out what the other was thinking.

                “I’m sorry.” Ilhoon apologized quietly. “You probably regret –“ Sehun cut him off.

                “I don’t. I really don’t.” He stalked over to the closet, three whole steps in Ilhoon’s small room, and wrapped Ilhoon up in a tight embrace. Ilhoon fell into it like Sehun was lifting some burden off his shoulders. He kissed Ilhoon’s temple but he was terrible at letting serious moments stay serious. He seriously needed to work on himself or something. He let his voice drop down into sexy and dirty.

                “Give me a few minutes and I’ll show you just how little I regret it.” Ilhoon shoved him away but it was playful and he was laughing.

                “You still want to watch that movie?” Ilhoon’s question probably carried more weight than it should have. Sehun was trying to decipher it in his head while Ilhoon finished getting dressed. Should he say no and get out of here? How much trouble would Ilhoon be in if he stayed? But Ilhoon had asked so yes was obviously an option too. Sehun decided he very much wanted to say yes.

                “Yeah, sure. Do you have clean shirt I can wear?” Ilhoon handed him something plain black with a red ‘supreme’ across the front. It was tight across his shoulders when he pulled it on, but not overly so. He got comfortable against the headboard while Ilhoon fiddled with the laptop, positioning it and re-positioning it when he realized Sehun’s original placement was better. When he was finally finished and the movie was playing Sehun patted the bed next to him.

                Ilhoon collapsed into it, overcome with exhaustion, but hesitated before he shuffled over to press against Sehun. Sehun thought it was stupidly charming that Ilhoon could be begging Sehun to make him come and then twenty minutes later be shy about sitting too close. Sehun figured it had something to do with the implied intimacy of each situation. He threw an arm over Ilhoon’s shoulder and drug him as close as possible just so Ilhoon knew exactly where he stood on the matter.

                The movie was only maybe a third of the way through, and that was being generous, when Ilhoon stopped trying to fight his head as it rolled back against Sehun’s shoulder. It was only a few minutes after that before Sehun heard deep breathing and he glanced down to find Ilhoon completely passed out, sleeping like the dead. He didn’t want to leave yet though, and he could always say he wanted to finish the movie.

                The next thing he knew there was a loud knocking on the door and light was streaming in through the window. After that he felt the weight across his stomach where Ilhoon had draped an arm, felt Ilhoon’s breathing against his shoulder, felt his own arms around Ilhoon’s slender body. Finally he noticed Doojoon staring down at him.

                “It’s seven.”

                “In the morning?” Sehun’s voice was hoarse with sleep and he was still a little confused about what the fuck exactly was going on.

                “Yeah, the next guy comes at 7:30 so you should probably head out.” Doojoon was studying them with a grim look on his face like he was a coroner dealing with a mysterious death. Sehun scrubbed a hand over his face as if that would wipe away the stare.

                “Oh yeah, sure.” He figured he could tack on “I didn’t mean to fall asleep” for good measure. It wasn’t a lie after all. Doojoon seemed to soften a little at the idea that Ilhoon hadn’t intentionally kept someone at his house overnight and he left Sehun to wake up, clicking the door shut behind him.

                “Hey Ilhoon.” Sehun shook him but he barely stirred. “Ilhoonie.” He shook him harder until Ilhoon finally joined the land of the living. His eyes were glazed over and sleepy and his face was a melting pot of confused, angry, and adorable.

                “It’s seven in the morning. I have to go.” Ilhoon jolted to a sitting position and looked around for what Sehun could only assume was answers.

                “Oh yeah, sure okay.” Ilhoon apparently didn’t find any because he was still partly confused and still almost entirely asleep. Sehun kissed him anyway, no tongue, but deep enough that he was hoping Ilhoon could read his emotions through it. Ilhoon kissed back and brought a hand up to Sehun’s face. After a minute had passed he pulled back, affronted.

                “We haven’t even brushed our teeth!” Sehun laughed and pulled him down on to the bed, kissing at his face as he did. Ilhoon shrieked and pushed away but he was giggling through his protests. It took everything Sehun had to drag himself up.

                “I’ll see you later today right? At Hyuna’s?” Ilhoon hummed an affirmative noise from under the covers where he’d pulled them back up around him, peeking up at Sehun with tired but happy eyes. Sehun didn’t want to leave. He wanted to crawl back into the warm bed and just sleep all day wrapped around Ilhoon. He bent down, moving the covers for a second to peck Ilhoon’s mouth. Ilhoon smiled so cutely it was making Sehun lose his resolve and he needed to leave right now.

                Doojoon was waiting for him by the door to see him out. The guys who he’d had over the night before were sleeping sprawled around the living room. He was suddenly irritated that Doojoon could have people over to Ilhoon’s house but Ilhoon couldn’t. What bullshit. Doojoon cleared his throat in an attempt to get Sehun out the door but one of the guests stopped him.

                “You must be Sehun.” The man was cradling a cup of coffee and resting against the wall like a supermodel. Doojoon rolled his eyes and waved at them as he traipsed back to the living room to finish waking the others.

                “Yeah, and you are?”

                “Hyunseung.” Sehun hadn’t heard that name, but the way this guy was looking at him made him feel like maybe he should’ve. He didn’t know Doojoon so that definitely couldn’t be it…

                “Working with Hyuna now, huh?” Sehun shifted awkwardly and gazed at the door knob longingly. Freedom from this conversation was so close yet so far.

                “Yep.” He popped the p and hoped the Hyunseung would feel the ‘I’m ready to leave’ vibe Sehun was trying to send his way. The day shift thug would be here soon and Sehun got the impression he would be very unhappy about Sehun’s presence.

                “You should be careful. She’ll get you killed.” Uhg, what an asshole. Not that Sehun had any idea what this guy was talking about. Wait, what was he talking about?

                “What do you mean by that?” Hyunseung took a long drink of his coffee just to stall.

                “I just mean that when it comes to Hyuna and Ilhoon, if you aren’t careful they’ll burn you up.” Seven was way to fucking early for cryptic riddles and Sehun was in no fucking mood to be warned about nonsense. He’d ask Ilhoon about it later, he trusted Ilhoon more than this weirdo anyway.

                “Oh, and you should cover up that hickey.” Sehun slapped a hand to his neck. What the hell? This was bad. They need to be low-key and secretive, damnit. But… He was sure that Ilhoon wouldn’t leave a hickey somewhere so obvious. Even with sex brain he managed to ask so Ilhoon definitely would have too.

                “I don’t have a hickey.” Hyunseung looked dangerous, ginning into his coffee.

                “I know.” Oh. Oh shit. Sehun was terrible at being in a secret relationship.


	14. Trust Fall in Love

                “I got an interesting call this morning.” Sehun hadn’t even closed the fucking door before Hyuna started in. He didn’t even get a hello? Ilhoon looked up from the chair he was draped across, playing on his phone, and gave Hyuna a curious look. When she motioned for Sehun to join them he perched on the arm of Ilhoon’s chair tentatively, ready to flee. Hyuna sounded pissed as hell and he wanted to have an out if he needed one.

                “Did you two have a good night last night?” Hyuna was gritting out frustrated words but E’dawn was just smirking at them. So it was a rhetorical question then. Ilhoon still played dumb.

                “What do you mean?” If looks could kill Ilhoon would be dead, murdered seven times over by Hyuna’s intensity. But he was a master of keeping up the lie apparently and just made a cute, oblivious face under the pressure. Hyuna deflated first, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to steady herself. E’dawn pulled her down onto the couch and draped his arm across her shoulders.

                “I have to take some responsibility for this,” she started. “I did force Ilhoon to play the girlfriend.” It hit Sehun like a truck. It was about last night… and someone had called her this morning. He didn’t know him, but he already hated this Hyunseung guy. He couldn’t wait one fucking day to out them?

                “Hyunseung called you.” Everyone’s eyes snapped to him like it was some kind of creepy art house film. He would have felt more disturbed if it weren’t for Ilhoon’s betrayed look boring a hole in the side of his head.

                “Yes, he did.” He got the feeling Hyuna was on the verge of full on strangling him to death. He was a lot less concerned about Hyuna than Ilhoon right now though. Ilhoon was squeezing his phone so hard Sehun could hear the plastic case flexing in his grip.

                “You talked to Hyunseung this morning?” It was both accusing and questioning. He turned to Ilhoon, he’d deal with Hyuna and E’dawn later. He needed Ilhoon to understand he didn’t fuck up on purpose. He needed him to know he would never, ever fuck them over.

                “He cornered me on my way out to warn me about you and Hyuna. I may have accidentally gave him the idea we did more than watch a movie.” Ilhoon’s eyes were dark. He was looking at Sehun like he never had before. This wasn’t a glare born out of irritation or playful banter, this was the glare of someone who really fucking hated you.

                “You ‘accidentally’ told him about us?” Ilhoon used air quotes, ignoring his phone as it clattered to the ground. His words came out like poison and Sehun felt it in his blood. He felt his chest tightening in panic. It hadn’t even been one. fucking. day.

                “He tricked me!” Ilhoon was on his feet, staring down at Sehun for once.

                “Tricked you!? He tricked you!? You’re involved in crime for fuck’s sake! How does someone trick you so easily!?” Ilhoon was pacing. Or maybe it was power walking, it was pretty fast for pacing.

                “I’m sorry! Please just,” Sehun tried to stop Ilhoon’s movement, tried to get the smaller man to just look at him. He wanted to do anything he could to convey just how fucking sorry he was. Sehun stood in front of the Ilhoon and Ilhoon pushed him. Not hard, but hard enough.

                “I should never have trusted you!” Sehun felt like he had been stabbed in the chest. Ilhoon had been defending him since day one, had been telling Hyuna to trust him, had been telling Hyuna that he trusted him. It felt like everything that had happened since the very first day was crumbling around him. Sehun stood lamely, hands at his side, and Ilhoon turned his back to him.

                “What the fuck was I thinking? Why am I so fucking stupid?” Ilhoon was grumbling to himself, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his palms. Hyuna and E’dawn were staring at Sehun and it felt like barbed wire across his skin. What the fuck ever though, Ilhoon hating him hurt way fucking more. Ilhoon dropped to the ground and buried his face in his arms.

                “What am I going to tell the boss?” It was a lot less angry than Ilhoon’s other questions. It had a level of fear Sehun really didn’t want to think about. For the first time it really hit Sehun just how risky this was for Ilhoon. And for him too. The boss could fucking kill him. But… even knowing that he wouldn’t take it back.

                “Maybe you don’t have to tell him anything.” Hyuna’s voice was gentle but filled with sadness as she joined Ilhoon on the floor, kneeling in front of him. His eyes met hers.

                “Hyunseung told me he wouldn’t say anything if I stepped away from the heist.” Ilhoon had her by the shoulders before anyone could think about what that meant.

                “No. No noona.” Ilhoon was determined, sure of himself for the first time that day. Sehun had enough of a sense of self-preservation to at least think about what he was going to say before he said it, but not enough of one to not say it.

                “He doesn’t have any proof though. I mean, seeing me come out of Ilhoon’s room isn’t proof. Why can’t we just say it didn’t happen?”

                “It’s not proof exactly but he says he has pictures of you guys making out at the bank.” Hyuna was going to scold them for making out somewhere public, Sehun could feel it, but Ilhoon cut her off.

                “Wait what? He has pictures of us at the bank?” Hyuna stood and pulled Ilhoon with her, no longer angry or sad, just thoroughly confused.

                “Yeah, and seriously, making out in public?” It may not have been a full scolding but at least she slipped it in there.

                “We didn’t make out in public. We made out in the manager’s office so we could plant the bug without the security camera seeing.”

                “And because you wanted to make out.” Thank you E’dawn, way to assess the horrible, agonizing tension in the room, toss it aside, and still make a joke. Sehun would have laughed out loud but he knew he was on thin ice. Not even thin ice. He was on a single fucking snowflake right now.

                “If he has access to that he’s the one feeding the bank information.” Well, back to angry for Hyuna. At least it wasn’t directed at Sehun. Ilhoon nodded and chewed on his thumbnail. Sehun could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

                “Let him tell the boss. He’ll definitely wait until after the card game, that mother fucker loves to gamble, that will give me some time.” Ilhoon was hugging Hyuna as if she was the one who needed comfort. “Trust me, noona. I’ll take care of it.” She looped her arms around him and hugged back.

                “I trust you.” Sehun felt sick. He was happy that they trusted and loved each other, but it made him painfully aware that they didn’t trust him anymore. He hated this. He hated everything about this. He was looking at the floor, jaw set tight, and he didn’t notice Hyuna and Ilhoon staring at him.

                “What exactly did you tell Hyunseung?” He didn’t look up when Ilhoon asked him the question, it wasn’t angry necessarily, but it was hurt and betrayed and disappointed, everything that was way worse than angry.

                “I didn’t tell him anything exactly.” He explained everything that did happen, from the exact wording of the ‘burn you up’ comment to the hickey. All of it. He left nothing out. When he was finished he didn’t look up. He didn’t want to see Ilhoon’s sad face staring back at him.

                Ilhoon was hugging him. It was feeble, Ilhoon not quite squeezing, but his arms were still wrapped around Sehun and his face was buried in Sehun’s chest.

                “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have lost my temper,” he squeezed a little tighter and Sehun finally moved to hold him back. “I’m sorry, Sehun.” Sehun felt like maybe he should put up a little more of a fight, maybe refuse to forgive Ilhoon right away, but he just didn’t have it in him. He held Ilhoon so tightly he was afraid he might squeeze the air out of him.

                “I’m sorry too. I should have left, I should have been more careful.” Ilhoon shook his head against Sehun’s body.

                “I wanted you to stay…” Sehun was mildly aware of their audience, but only in the sense that he didn’t want to do anything in front of them that Ilhoon might not want him too. Before when it came to his relationship with Ilhoon he was marching forward, hacking away at the jungle with a machete, but now it felt like he was teetering on a rope bridge over a ravine. Not that he didn’t still want to kiss Ilhoon, he very much wanted that.

                “If you two are done.” Hyuna didn’t sound mad, in fact her voice felt light and teasing. When he and Ilhoon took the floor this time they sat close on purpose, they didn’t even pretend that they didn’t. E’dawn and Hyuna both gave them an encouraging, knowing smile before Hyuna started in with the business.

                “So, the boss’ card game is a week from now, it will give Ilhoon time to… fix the Hyunseung situation.” Sehun willed himself not to flinch. “We should use the next week to finish any planning we need to do. That means E’dawn will go over the info from the bug and hopefully get into the bank’s security. I’ll help with what I can.” E’dawn was nodding thoughtfully into his hand. Hyuna barreled on.

                “Ilhoon, go over the camera placement and the security and figure out exactly where we need to be in that bank from start to finish.” Sehun never thought Ilhoon’s planning would be so similar to his own. It was kind of a nice idea, they both planned routes just in different ways.

                “Sehun, finalize the escape route.”

                “On it, boss.” Hyuna sighed and leaned back, letting her eyes close. She looked tired, probably from the marathon, obstacle course, bullshit this heist was turning out to be. E’dawn rested his head on her shoulder and took her hand in his.

                “Want to take a nap, noona?” The corners of Hyuna’s mouth curved into a smile.

                “Alright, we won’t meet up again until the card game unless something comes up,” she didn’t even bother to open her eyes as she spoke. “So if we’re done here get out of my apartment.” It wasn’t mean, it was barely a command. She was smiling and shooing them away with a jeweled hand. Damn she could rock rings like Sehun had never seen. Ilhoon was up and almost out the door by the time Sehun had managed to get to his feet.

                “Hey, wait.” Sehun stopped him outside the apartment and eyed the closed door warily. Last time they stood outside of it one of the dangerous duo had popped in on them. Or wait, were Hyuna and Ilhoon the dangerous duo? Ilhoon was waiting for him to continue.

                “We should go eat something.” Sehun wanted to call it a date. He wanted to say ‘hey Ilhoon, let me take you on a date’ but he didn’t have the courage, especially not after their fight. Ilhoon was shuffling awkwardly, weighing the pros and cons in his own head.

                “Yeah, okay. Got anywhere in mind?” Sehun definitely did, but he wasn’t sure if Ilhoon would agree to go if he knew.

                “Yeah, I do.” When Ilhoon gave him a skeptical look Sehun almost didn’t stop the words ‘just trust me’ from tumbling out. He managed to choke them back at the last second. There was still an uncomfortable tension between them that Sehun wasn’t sure exactly how to fix. He had an idea though so he just threw his arm over Ilhoon’s shoulder, kissed his head, and led the way.

                It wasn’t too far away, maybe forty minutes by car, but every minute that passed made Ilhoon a little more restless in the seat next to him. He was fidgeting, drumming his fingers on his leg, then on the dash.

                “What do you want to eat? Something to go.” Ilhoon startled, jumping at Sehun’s question, and then shot him a confused puppy look. His eyes were big and sparkling in the setting sun and Sehun really needed to stop thinking so poetically.

                “Mm, chicken?” Sehun could go for some chicken, maybe a couple of beers to go with it? It would be dark by the time they got there so beer shouldn’t be a problem. He turned off towards a chicken place, making sure to check out which convenience stores were nearby. Ilhoon was out of the car as soon as it was parked.

                “This is where we’re going? They have a Kkanbu closer.” Ilhoon may have been whining, but he was still strolling up to the chicken place, excited. He even held the door open for Sehun and it made Sehun want to pinch his cheeks or something. Sehun ordered for them both, the basics to go.

                “This isn’t where we’re going.” He could tell Ilhoon wanted to demand answers, but he was still letting Sehun take him wherever. He must feel really guilty about earlier. It almost made Sehun feel shitty about it, he wasn’t mad even when Ilhoon was yelling at him. Maybe that’s why Ilhoon felt as bad as he did. They picked up their chicken, then the beer, and they were back in the car.

                “Hey, put the food in here.” Sehun tossed an old ratty backpack into Ilhoon’s lap and Ilhoon stuffed the food into it with less care then Sehun would have. Had Ilhoon never transported food before? It was going to be a mess. He figured it was still better than what was usually in that backpack. It was usually stuffed to the brim with illicit drugs or spare clothes for new prostitutes who didn’t think to bring their own. Today it was going to live as a semi-normal backpack.

                “Inwangsan? Really?” Ilhoon sounded nervous as they pulled up. Sure, hiking on a mountain at night wasn’t everyone’s idea of safe, but Inwangsan was like the easiest mountain. It had a lighted trail. It had security. Sehun helped Ilhoon out of the car, slung the backpack over his own shoulders, and linked their fingers together.

                “I’ll carry you too if you can’t make it.” Ilhoon tried to shove him but didn’t let go of his fingers, and when Sehun moved a tiny bit too far away Ilhoon used the grip to pull him closer again. There were some tourists meandering around at the start of the trail, a few more part of the way up, but when they got farther along there was almost no one around. The sun had set fully and Seoul was glittering below them.

                Sehun helped Ilhoon onto a flat rock with a good view and pulled the food out of his bag. It was surprisingly intact all things considered. The beer didn’t even fizz over when he pried the cap off with a loose stone. He handed it over to Ilhoon, opened his own, and laughed. Ilhoon was staring at him, beer in one hand and a piece of chicken in the other like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with his arms.

                “What are you doing?” Ilhoon furrowed his brows and thought about his answer.

                “What is this?”

                “Chicken and beer, it’s very popular these days.” Ilhoon huffed but made no move to eat his food.

                “I mean… this.” He tried to gesture but accidentally dropped the chicken off the rock. It rolled down the mountain side and Ilhoon looked like someone had run over his dog. Sehun put a lid on his laughter and steeled his nerve. It was now or never, if he was ever going to be brave in his life this was the moment.

                “It’s a date. Away from the slums and crime and the boss.” Sehun handed Ilhoon another piece of chicken like a peace offering. Ilhoon was smiling when he bit into it.

                “A date huh? Should we ask each other first date questions?” Sehun flung his chicken bone down the mountain. It was biodegradable okay? It was for the animals.

                “So Ilhoon, if you could be any animal what would you be and why?” Ilhoon seemed to think throwing the bones was a good idea because he mimicked Sehun’s action while he thought about his answer.

                “A pigeon. They can fly and they can shit on whoever they want.” Sehun laughed into his beer while he was trying to take a drink.

                “What about you?” Sehun was willing his filter to save him from the sappy shit that wanted to pour out of his mouth.

                “I could be a pigeon, sounds fun.” At least he managed to keep the ‘so we could be together’ off the end. It was like his mind had been invaded by an over-the-top romance drama and he couldn’t stop the cliché intrusive thoughts. Ilhoon downed his beer and handed Sehun the empty bottle.

                “So Sehun, what’s your perfect Saturday?” Sehun tossed the last chicken bone over the edge.

                “The animal question was better.” Ilhoon smiled at his teasing.

                “It would have been better if you hadn’t copied my answer.” Sehun pushed their trash out of the way so he could lay on his back and look at the sky. You could see the brighter stars peeking through the light pollution here.

                “Maybe… It can be anything right? It doesn’t have to include work?”

                “Unless your idea of a perfect Saturday includes work.” Ilhoon wasn’t looking back at him, still staring out to appraise the city lights.

                “I’d wake up late, have coffee in bed maybe, play some video games with my friends from Ilsan. Just… have a normal day, I guess.” Sehun faltered at the end but he wanted to push through, he was being brave today, damnit. “If you wanted to watch a movie or go get some food that’d be good too.” Ilhoon finally moved to lay next to him, but instead of trepidation he was sure of himself. He lifted Sehun’s arm around him and laid his head on Sehun’s shoulder.

                “That sounds nice… but I’ll read while you play video games.” Sehun was suddenly overcome with images of his perfect day, Ilhoon in bed with him, reading while Sehun played games, mocking Sehun’s gameplay until he started to doze off, laying in Sehun’s arms while they napped on the couch. It was wonderful and awful all at once.

                “Hmm… We could have breakfast in bed.” Ilhoon shuffled to his side so he could drape an arm over Sehun’s middle.

                “Only if you’re the one cooking it.” Sehun traced his fingers up Ilhoon’s arm, eventually resting a hand on his elbow.

                “I could do that.” Ilhoon looked up at him, mischievous.

                “I’d be so appreciative. I’d have to blow you as thanks.” Sehun flushed, even more so when Ilhoon tucked a leg around Sehun’s to pull himself closer.

                “I’m sure that would turn into sex, maybe twice even. We’ve got all day.”

                “Then you can play with your friends and I’ll read.”

                “You make me sound like a kid.” Ilhoon tried to shrug but Sehun’s hold on him didn’t allow it.

                “I think it’s impossible to think of you as a kid after seeing your dick.” Sehun laughed, embarrassed but not entirely sure why, and used the hand on Ilhoon’s arm to cover his red face. When he gained his composure Ilhoon was drawing a small pattern in Sehun’s chest with his fingertips. Sehun figured they couldn’t stop at a half day.

                “After games and reading we could go out to eat, some place fancy where we totally don’t belong.” Ilhoon nodded his agreement into Sehun’s shoulder.

                “We could take a walk by the Han river as the sun sets.” Ilhoon was on board with the perfect day and Sehun’s heart was hurting. He was terrible at this being in love shit. Maybe it was because he wanted all of this so badly but he couldn’t have it.

                “To top the day off we could go home a take a bath with dim lighting.” He grabbed Ilhoon’s hand and held it against his chest. “Maybe one more round of sex in the tub, then sleep in clean sheets.”

                “Oh? Did you change them in the morning or something?” Sehun pulled back to look at Ilhoon’s face and gave him the most offended look he could muster.

                “I thought you were in charge of laundry?” Ilhoon’s eyes were glittering with held back laughter.

                “Me? No way. Laundry is all you.” Sehun sighed dramatically and rested his head back against the rock.

                “I guess we’re doomed to have dirty sheets forever,” the next part tumbled out before Sehun could even form the thought. “Trust me, I’m terrible at laundry.” He tensed when he heard himself and knew Ilhoon felt it. Trust was a fresh scab that shouldn’t be picked at. Sehun felt a wave of disappointment wash over him as the silence continued.

                “I trust you.” Ilhoon pulled Sehun’s face forward with a trembling hand, timid yet forcing their eyes to meet all the same. “I’m sorry… I do trust you. I was just…” Ilhoon trailed off, unsure of himself and what he was. He was pulling away, Sehun could feel it, so Sehun gripped him harder.

                “You were scared.” Ilhoon nodded.

                “I’m sorry too. I didn’t think about what it really meant with the boss, you know?” A thousand complicated emotions flickered over Ilhoon’s face but it seemed to end on insecure. Sehun thought about how after… about how the other night Ilhoon thought he regretted being with him.

                “We’ll be more careful in the future right?” Ilhoon reached up to kiss him. It was fast and light but Sehun did a mental victory dance for choosing the right words.

                “Luna and I… uhm…” Ilhoon was trailing off. “Luna and I killed someone.” He had heard those words before… It took Sehun a minute before he could fully sort out what was happening. Ilhoon was trying to show that he trusted Sehun and it made his heart warm. Maybe he shouldn’t be smiling like an idiot at the murder comment.

                “Luna told me, not any details though.” Ilhoon was looking up at him with that soul piercing, calculating gaze.

                “I’ll tell you, if you want.” Sehun’s mind was a battlefield. He wanted to know so badly it was killing him, but he also didn’t want to push Ilhoon away just for the sake of knowing something that, if he was being completely honest with himself, didn’t really matter to him. Ilhoon laughed at him.

                “Don’t make that face, it’s fine. I offered.”

                “Okay, I do want to know.” Ilhoon buried his face against Sehun to hide his eyes. He may have offered but Sehun could tell he was still nervous about sharing.

                “It’s nothing too crazy…” Well, considering they murdered a guy Sehun figured it had to be a little crazy. “Luna came over to the apartment. The guy watching me that day was really drunk…” Ilhoon was pulling at Sehun’s shirt, trying to distract himself from the memory. Sehun had an idea of where this was going and he let Ilhoon take his time.

                “He was yelling about being stuck with me, thought that he was owed something… He tried to… He grabbed Luna and she was struggling…” Sehun squeezed Ilhoon tighter to him. He could feel anger building in his chest but it most certainly wasn’t at Luna or Ilhoon.

                “I heard his belt and I panicked. I stabbed him in the back with a kitchen knife. He tried to grab me after and I’m er…” Ilhoon ran his hand over his own arm. “I’m not very strong, you know? So Luna got a knife and stabbed him too. At the end it was all very… Death of Caesar.”

                “What happened after?”

                “We took the body to the river and cleaned up… we told the next guy that he was drunk and left in the middle of the night.” Ilhoon finally looked back up to Sehun, searching for something. Disappointment maybe? Disgust? Sehun made sure he wouldn’t find it.

                “You did what you had to,” Ilhoon relaxed so much that it felt like he was melting against Sehun, “and I’m glad you told me.” Ilhoon smiled a very faint, barely there smile, and Sehun pressed his mouth against it, lightly at first. Then Ilhoon pressed back, much harder. 

                “I’ll take you home.” Sehun’s words were half-hearted and ragged and Ilhoon groaned in entirely not the good way. He was moving to stand though so he agreed with Sehun, like it or not. They gathered their trash and found the closest security station to throw it away at. Ilhoon was smiling, wide-eyed and full of aegyo, as he took the now empty backpack and slung it over his own shoulders.

                “Aw, how kind of you to pull your own weight.” Ilhoon responded by jumping onto Sehun piggyback style.

                “You said you’d carry me if I couldn’t make it right?” Sehun made no move to walk forward, but he didn’t drop Ilhoon either.

                “I think you could make it just fine.” Sehun wasn’t prepared for the cutesy voice that followed.

                “Please Sehunnie, I’m tired…” Sehun grunted as he shifted Ilhoon’s weight more evenly across his back. Ilhoon wasn’t heavy and the hike was short so it was fine right? He was totally a sucker though, he knew it. It was dangerous for Ilhoon to know that all he had to do was act cute for Sehun to give in, but as they neared the base of the mountain he felt Ilhoon’s arms loosen, going completely slack near the car when Ilhoon was fully asleep, Sehun thought it was totally worth it.


	15. Interlude: E'dawn

                Ilhoon and Hyuna were amazing, awe inspiring, and beautiful. They were the kind of people who you didn’t say no to. Hyojong wasn’t a criminal, not really, not according to slum’s standards anyway. Sure, he redirected some funds to give himself a raise, but he needed that money. And okay he did redirect some more when he needed a recharge on his T-money card, but the school made it so easy.

                When the school needed new books, when one of the teachers couldn’t pay their rent, when life in poverty inevitably happened, he had siphoned some money from the boss. He wanted to help these people struggling, the people begging the kids who looked up to them to get out if they got the chance. It was small amounts here and there, something someone with so much money wouldn’t notice. The decrepit, underfunded school was clearly not on the boss’ radar. He was wrong.

                Ilhoon and Hyuna had come to him, taking up the entirety of the IT office with their personalities alone. They were larger than life and they had asked him to be larger than life too. Well, they didn’t ask him so much as told him he would be. He remembered opening his mouth to refuse, he didn’t want to be involved in something life-threatening, but the air tasted like sulfur and turned his words to dust in his mouth. It was like talking to lit fireworks.

                He didn’t regret it, exactly. He loved what he did now, loved the thrill of finding out how to rob a bank or a tech store, and he loved Hyuna. She had told him if Hyojong wasn’t a criminal maybe someone else could be and he had named that person E’dawn. She held his hand both metaphorically and physically through everything they did. There was a part of him that always felt like she was still unreachable though, even when she was sleeping in his arms.

                She had a past too, and that past had come to visit him. His name was Hyunseung and he cornered Hyojong while he was leaving work. Hyojong had been there late that day, doing work that wasn’t for the school, and it was dark outside. He had only gotten as far as pulling the key from the lock when his forehead smashed into the door.

                “Who the fuck do you think you are?” The words were like pinpricks across his skin, like a newly forming case of tinnitus. He shook his head to clear it and turned to face the man spitting venom at him. Hyunseung’s eyes were narrowed, cat-like, and his face had a drunk flush.

                “I’m E’dawn.” There wasn’t any point in going farther. Hyunseung clearly knew who he was and what he had been doing. He didn’t like Hyojong’s answer apparently, he was gritting his teeth in irritation and fury.

                “You think you can fuck around with Hyuna? You think you can take my place?” Hyuna had mentioned her ex was… volatile, that he was nasty and controlling, and Hyuna would. not. be. controlled.

                “Yes?” That was the wrong thing to say. Hyunseung had him by the shirt with his left hand and he was dragging Hyojong into his space. Hyojong may have been tall-ish, but Hyunseung was taller and he used the sliver of difference to intimidate Hyojong. Not that it was working. Hyunseung could kiss his ass.

                “She’ll fuck you over, you know that right? Once she’s got what she wants from you. Her and Ilhoon are both poison.” Oh yeah, he remembers Hyuna explaining her relationship with Ilhoon. They were family, and if it came down to it she would choose Ilhoon over him every time. It didn’t bother him, he had no intention of making her choose. He loved her, knew she loved him, and that was enough. Hyunseung though, he had a problem with it.

                “Okay, that’s fine.” Hyunseung was getting increasingly frustrated by not hearing what he wanted to hear. He wanted Hyojong scared and he wasn’t going to get it. He tightened his grip on Hyojong’s shirt and shook, just a little, but Hyojong wouldn’t break. Not for this fucker who had hurt Hyuna emotionally, even if she wouldn’t admit it, this fucker who had hurt her physically when he didn’t get his way.

                “You don’t know anything you stupid fuck!” Hyunseung had evolved to shouting and shoving Hyojong’s back against the metal school door. Once. Twice. The third time Hyojong was having a hard time catching his breath. Hyunseung had recently been demoted from the boss’ favorite for cybercrime because Hyuna and Ilhoon had chosen E’dawn for their team instead.

                “I’m the one with the job so clearly I know enough.” Hyojong felt knuckles across his cheekbone. Motherfucker that hurt. He couldn’t stumbled back because of Hyunseung’s hold on his shirt and the second punch hurt considerably more than the first.

                “Shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up!” There was nothing to quip back with at this point, Hyunseung wouldn’t hear it. He was overcome with anger. Hyojong tried to catch himself when Hyunseung threw him to the pavement but he only got a skinned palm for his effort. His back hit hard on the solid concrete and he was out of breath for the second time that night. Hyunseung was on him in an instant, hand fisted back in his shirt. The first punch smashed against his mouth, but the pain that exploded across the back of his head where it bounced off the pavement distracted him from the swollen lip he’d have tomorrow.

                The next punch came, and the next, and Hyojong was delirious from it. He had the fleeting thought that he should be fighting back, but he wasn’t a fighter. He was never a fighter. The next fleeting thought made a lot less sense to him. Angel, thy name is Vans. His vision was blurry, from blood or pain or maybe a concussion, he couldn’t guess, he wasn’t a fucking doctor, but someone wearing vans had definitely kicked Hyunseung in the face… right?

                He came into awareness after what felt like years, but if the scene before him was anything to go by it was seconds instead. Ilhoon was wearing vans and he had kicked Hyunseung in the head, and now was kicking him in the stomach. Hyojong wanted to laugh, Ilhoon was like a kitten among jungle cats if you were going on looks alone, but Ilhoon was also used to being pushed around. Hyunseung reached out to grab Ilhoon’s ankle but Ilhoon sidestepped him with no effort, instead stomping on his outstretched hand.

                “I’ll fucking kill you, do you hear me!?” The threat wasn’t very powerful coming from someone on the ground. Ilhoon apparently thought the same thing because he dropped down and punched Hyunseung in the mouth, twice, before Hyunseung used his advantageous size to roll on top of Ilhoon and return the favor. Luckily Hyojong had enough sense to stand up and pull Hyunseung off of Ilhoon. Hyunseung staggered to his feet and wiped the spit and blood off his mouth.

                “You two will never be safe.”

                “Go fuck yourself, trash!” Ilhoon hadn’t even made it to standing yet, he was just sitting on the pavement. His glare was enough to put weight behind his words though, and Hyunseung stumbled off into the night. Hyojong helped Ilhoon to his feet.

                “Thanks.” Hyojong breathed out his gratitude with a hand to his sore chest. He wasn’t even sure he got hit in the chest, but he was sure everywhere on his body hurt. Ilhoon smiled a crooked smile at him through a split lip and dabbed at his bleeding nose with the bottom his his hoodie.

                “Of course, we’re a team right?” The validation shouldn’t feel as good as it did, but it did feel good. It felt good to be part of something, even more so when that something had your back.

                “What are you even doing here?” Ilhoon shrugged and started the walk back to Hyojong’s apartment without him.

                “Hyuna said you were supposed to call but you didn’t and I was already in the area.” Hyojong could feel himself smiling, mostly he could feel it because it was incredibly painful right now. Hyuna was worried about him. Hyuna had sent the person she trusted most in the world to check on him. That person had gotten beat up for him. They were a team. If Hyuna and Ilhoon were poison, so be it. They were the sweetest poison in the whole world.


	16. High Life Low Life

                Too many things happened in quick succession for Sehun. He was sitting with a couple girls in his apartment, watching tv when he knew he really should get back to planning a route. The show was something he wasn’t interested in, some drama about romance in high school, but the girls liked it enough. He wished he was watching it with Ilhoon.

                “It wasn’t the boss, it was Joo that handled it.” Sehun focused so fast his head spun.

                “What did Joo handle?” The girls looked at him with that same look he got from everyone else these days, the one that let him know everyone thought he was an idiot. So what if he wasn’t listening? Usually they just chatter about nonsense.

                “There were mercenaries threatening some of the dealers and a few of the pickpockets working in Myeongdong. Didn’t you hear about it?” No he most certainly had the fuck not. He had so much other shit going on lately it was amazing he could even keep track of that let alone shit going on in Myeongdong. The girl talking didn’t need more prompting, she was gesticulating so much it was like her body couldn’t contain the gossip.

                “Apparently they were taking money and drugs and roughing people up, talking about how the boss owed them or something. What would the boss use mercenaries for anyway?” She didn’t breath. “But the boss wasn’t doing anything or whatever, so Joo came in and paid them so they’d back off.” The other girl was nodding along like it was a religious ceremony before adding her own thoughts to the speculation stew.

                “The boss is really lucky to have someone like Joo looking out for his interests.” It had been what, a month? Suddenly everyone was singing Joo’s praises, and from the sounds of it those praises were warranted. It sat very weird with Sehun but he couldn’t put his finger on why, he remember it sat wrong with Luna too and that had to mean something, right?

                “What in the absolute fuck were you thinking!?” Speaking of Luna, she was screaming outside the door, jiggling the lock in frustration. Sehun had an idea of just who she was screaming at.

                “I was thinking we’re wasting money!” He guessed right, that was his brother’s voice. The pair of them burst through the door like a battering ram. Sehun didn’t think they even saw the other people in the room.

                “Wasting money? Really!?” Sehun had only seen Luna this mad one other time, and that time was really really bad. That time a group of girls were desperate for drugs and turned up in an alley, fresh track marks in their dead arms. Overdosing wasn’t pretty.

                “What the fuck do you think will happen?” His brother was way too nonchalant for Luna’s liking and she stepped into his brother’s space, poking him hard in the chest.

                “I think you’re going to get us all killed in some stupid power play. I think you’re going to let the girls on the street die because you’re gambling away all of your fucking money.” Her voice was dark and dangerous. “And I think if it was up to you Sehun would hand over all his money.” His brother’s face was red and if this were a cartoon steam would be coming out of his ears. The girls on the couch next to Sehun had the good sense to keep their mouths shut. Sehun on the other hand…

                “What’s going on?” Luna had the decency to look surprised by their presence. Sehun’s brother didn’t have the decency to look.

                “You’re brother seems to think we don’t need to hire anyone to watch the girls on the street.” That was shitty, even for Sehun’s brother. Sure the girls that lived with them would always be a priority, but the girls who worked the streets needed protection more than any of the others.

                “They should take care of themselves!” Luna rounded on his brother and shoved him. His brother seemed to be getting that a lot these days.

                “Take care of themselves!? Then what the fuck do they need you for?” His brother really didn’t like that, but Sehun wasn’t expecting what came next, he wasn’t expecting his brother to shove back, hard enough that Luna collided with the wall behind her with a harsh thud.

                “Who the fuck do you think you are, bitch?” Sehun was on his feet before he could think better of it, standing between the two and helping Luna to her feet.

                “What the hell are you doing!?” He couldn’t tell if his voice was more angry or surprised. To be honest he couldn’t tell exactly what the fuck was going on.

                “You’re going to side with her? Over your family?” Sehun knew Luna didn’t necessarily need his protection, the idea of her and Ilhoon stabbing someone to death fresh in his mind, but he still kept her behind his back, just in case.

                “I didn’t know there were sides.” There was a silent stand off where his brother wouldn’t answer. He just glared at Sehun like he could somehow glare through him. If this were a movie there would be dramatic music playing. Maybe western music, with a twanging banjo or something. Sehun could practically see the tumbleweed bouncing between them.

                “If you want those girls to have protection, pay for it yourself.” His brother was rumbling out the angry words as he stalked past Luna and out the door. Sehun managed to keep his snide comment about his brother apparently not needing anything from the apartment to himself, he’d say something like ‘not even going to grab a change of clothes?’ but he didn’t.

                “Uhm… Unnie.” The girl who was so eager to gossip earlier was timid, hands stuffed under her legs to keep them in place.

                “Yeah?” None of them wanted to move, but Sehun felt Luna’s fingers on the back of his shirt, desperate for some sort of support.

                “We could ask Joo for some money.” The room was still, filled with dead air and silence. The girls on the couch were waiting for Luna to say something, anything. They trusted her authority even if his brother didn’t. Not that she was the one in charge, not really. She was just better with the girls than his brother. Luna let out a breath and blew the tension out of the room with it.

                “I don’t know…” Not hearing a firm no seemed to mean something like ‘all signs point to yes’ and the girl continued, scooching on the couch to make room for Luna.

                “She’d give it to us! I know she would.” Luna crumpled into the space the girl made. “I mean, you know Ilhoon right? And Sehun knows Ilhoon too. He really knows him right?” She laughed and Sehun flushed all the way to his ears. There is no way she knew about them, right? How the hell would she?

                “We work together but –“ She cut Sehun off as if she hadn’t even heard him.

                “He came in last night after hanging out with Ilhoon and he had that stupid grin.” Sehun wanted to protest that it wasn’t stupid but Luna was smiling up at him with a stupid grin of her own.

                “That’s not really –“ But gossip girl would not be stopped.

                “Anyway, Joo will definitely pay for the protection if we ask her. Did you hear that she paid for Suzi’s cosmetology school?” Luna nodded.

                “I did, and I’ll think about asking Joo. I’d rather do that than leave everyone to fend for themselves.” Oh sure, they’ll let Luna talk. Sehun wasn’t really upset though, he never wanted to be in charge. It was better if Luna took care of it.

                “Why don’t you girls go get something to eat so Sehun and I can talk?” Luna was stuffing a wadded up handful of bills into the talkative girl’s hands and they were out the door before Sehun could even sit down. He got it. Who would turn down free money? Especially when that money was turning into free food?

                “Your brother is insane.” Harsh, but right now Sehun couldn’t defend him. This was all such a top tier mess of fucked up. Why couldn’t his brother have waited to jump over the edge? Really though, what did Sehun want him to wait for?

                “I know. He wants to push out Seungri and Yixing.” Luna was chewing on her nail, nervous but not surprised.

                “He’s been drinking and staying out late to gamble too.” Sehun sighed and pulled a knee to his chest so he could rest his chin on it.

                “What should we do?” Luna gave an overexaggerated shrug.

                “I have no idea. I know you aren’t in any rush to take over, not that he’d go quietly if you tried anything.”

                “Maybe we can talk some sense into him.” Luna smiled over at him. There were a thousand unsaid things in that smile. Sehun knew she was placating him, that she didn’t believe his brother would veer off this power-hungry path he had started down. What came out was much more simple.

                “Yeah, maybe.” Sehun moved to rest his head in her lap and she carded fingers through his hair absentmindedly. It was relaxing at least a small portion of the horrible stress he was under. It wasn’t that long ago that everything was easy. It went to shit so fast.

                “Should I ask Joo for money?” Why Luna was asking for his advice about it he had no idea. He didn’t know Joo, he had never met her and Ilhoon didn’t talk about her much. To Sehun she was still just the person in charge of drugs and therefore drug addiction. Then again, he wasn’t going to leave the girls on the street to fend for themselves. Luna wouldn’t want that either.

                “Yeah. I think you should.” Luna was on the phone before she had a chance to second guess herself.

                “Hey, Ilhoon… No, I’m fine but uhm, can you come over?... No it’s not serious… I might need to borrow money from Joo… Okay, see you soon.” Sehun couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation but it didn’t seem like Ilhoon put up much of a fight. Sehun felt very weird having to ask someone he was dating for money. Or were they dating? They never explicitly said they were. Going on a single date was not dating. He knew Luna was feeling the burden too, she didn’t even ask about him and Ilhoon.

                Ilhoon arrived only twenty minutes later with a death grip on the messenger bag slung across his chest. He didn’t even wait to be invited in before he was barreling into the apartment, making a beeline straight for Luna on the couch and dropping into the seat next to her.

                “What’s going on?” Luna laughed at his worry and pinched one of his cheeks. He swatted her hand away and made the most ornery face Sehun has seen on him to date, and he seriously made that face a lot.

                “I told you it wasn’t serious! Stop looking so worried.” Ilhoon rubbed at his cheek where Luna has pinched it and finally looked up a Sehun who was hovering awkwardly over them. He couldn’t decide if he should sit down or stand. It would be awkward to sit on the couch right? He’d be sitting at Ilhoon’s back and he wanted to be a part of this conversation.

                “Are you going to sit down?” Ilhoon snapped at him and he sat on the new coffee table without a second thought. He hoped that it was more sturdy than their last one. Ilhoon must have found his sudden obedience amusing because his eyebrows looked a lot more relaxed and Sehun swore he saw a smile.

                “So, what’s going on?” Ilhoon repeated the question and Luna looked away from him, hair falling to obscure her face as if the universe felt bad for her. Asking for money sucked.

                “Sehun’s delightful brother decided he isn’t going to pay for protection for the girls on the street. I was hoping Joo might loan us some money while we figure out another way to pay for it.” Ilhoon looked between them, confused.

                “Isn’t that his responsibility as the person in charge?” Luna scoffed and pulled her hair back behind her ear, anger replacing shame.

                “Yeah, you’d think that wouldn’t you?” Ilhoon pulled the messenger bag onto his lap and started pulling out stacks of won, handing them to Sehun without even looking.

                “Maybe it’s time for a change in power.” Ilhoon grumbled it under his breath but Sehun and Luna definitely heard. They were going to ignore it, Ilhoon knew they were going to ignore it, because it was pandora’s box. Trying to shift power with no one to replace his brother would do nothing but throw everything into chaos, and Sehun did not want to take over.

                “How much do you need?” Less than he had already handed Sehun that’s for damn sure. Sehun was trying to juggle the stacks as Ilhoon handed them to him, eventually just dumping them into a pile on the coffee table.

                “One more?” Ilhoon was smiling and waving a stack at Sehun. Sehun grabbed it and considered where in the pile of money it should go, as if he had spent hours arranging it just so.

                “I don’t know, does it even have a place?”

                “Guess not.”  Ilhoon reached for it but Sehun pulled it away as his fingers grazed the edge, placing it carefully on a set of stacks that were already teetering. Ilhoon knocked them over just to be a dick.

                “That looks better.” Sehun hummed appraisingly, holding his chin like he was judging a master piece.

                “You’re giving it to us just like that?” Luna interrupted them, for once not amused by Sehun and Ilhoon’s antics. Sehun couldn’t tell if he liked it or hated it. On one hand it meant she wasn’t pestering him for flirting, but on the other it meant she was stressed out. Sehun was definitely leaning towards hating it.

                “Of course, Joo and I don’t need it and you do. Besides, you’re my friends right? That’s what friends do.” Sehun could tell he was making a sour face, he could feel it. He also knew he shouldn’t be disappointed at being called Ilhoon’s friend, and at least that answered the dating question.

                “Yeah, we’re friends.” Luna answered with a voice full of relief, and she was finally giving Sehun a smirk that told him she knew exactly what he was thinking. She cocked her head, exaggerating the movement, and gave the best fake confused look she could.

                “Are you not friends Sehun? You look upset.” Ilhoon looked at him with genuine confusion. Either he didn’t pick up on Luna’s teasing or he was distracted by the idea that he and Sehun might not be friends.

                “No, we are. Friends. Ilhoon and I are friends.” It came out awkward and broken, unbelievable even to Sehun. God damn it. He meant it though. If they weren’t going to be dating at least they could be friends; with benefits maybe? Whatever, much like everything else these days this was turning into a shit show.

                “We aren’t friends?” Ilhoon’s voice was small and sad and Sehun almost died. Fucking Luna, why is she like this? She wasn’t he favorite anymore. Gabby Gossipface was his new favorite. He’d learn her actual name and they’d go out for ice cream or some shit and that would be that. Luna was dead to him.

                “We are. I promise.” Ilhoon still looked unsure, but he was accepting it. Sehun guessed when you constantly had people telling you that you were the devil it wasn’t easy to believe someone liked you. Being around people who actually did like Ilhoon made it really easy to forget about all the people who didn’t.

                “Don’t worry,” Luna was holding Ilhoon’s knee for comfort. “He’s only awkward because he wants to touch your dick.” Ilhoon scoffed and rolled his eyes.

                “He already touched my dick.” Luna was looking at him with a wide eyes and a grin to rival the Joker. She looked crazy. Or maybe Sehun was projecting, he did feel pretty fucking threatened.

                “Oh, you did? So that’s why you’re so upset.” He crossed his arms and did his best to give Luna a stern look. She was impervious to him. This was exactly why Sehun could never be in charge.

                “Ilhoonie, did you tell Sehun you had feelings for him? Or have you guys just been fooling around?” Ilhoon thought about for an agonizing minute. Sehun was swallowing back ‘he most certainly did not tell me’ but it felt bitter and he didn’t want to push too far. He was doing his absolute best to let Ilhoon set the pace of their… friendship?

                “Hmm… I guess we’ve just been fooling around?” Luna was nodding, Sehun felt like he was in couples therapy.

                “And, is that all it is?” Ilhoon’s eyes met Sehun’s but Sehun couldn’t read what was behind them.

                “I have feelings for you.” Sehun’s heart skipped a beat like he was a twelve year old girl reading a romance novel for the first time.

                “Same… I have feelings for me too.” Luna and Ilhoon were both glaring at him, but they were two very different glares. Ilhoon’s was shimmering with amusement, Luna’s was simmering with rage.

                “Seriously? I confess to you and you make a joke?” Sehun shrugged and pushed himself up from the coffee table, purposefully stretching to reveal a sliver of his stomach. When it comes to good looks, if you got ‘em, use ‘em. Luna slapped him on his exposed skin. Ilhoon was laughing as he stood, adjusting his messenger bag across his chest. He was not looking up at Sehun, but Sehun was looking down at him. They were standing in between the couch and coffee table and they were very close.

                “I should head out.” Sehun stepped even closer, closing the space between them. His hands found Ilhoon’s hips without any thought on Sehun’s part but Ilhoon was just holding on to that stupid messenger bag strap.

                “You could stay for a while if you wanted to.” Ilhoon smiled up at him, innocent and devilish all at once.

                “Oh? Don’t you need some time with yourself? Since you have so many feelings and all.” Sehun leaned closer and brushed his lips against the shell of Ilhoon’s ear.

                “Maybe you could stay and help me sort them out?” Ilhoon finally moved to touch Sehun but he only rested his hands on Sehun’s chest, pushing against him until Sehun stepped out of his space.

                “I wish I could but I have to be on my best behavior this week.” Sehun sighed like nothing in the world could be worse. Luna rolled her eyes and Sehun stuck his tongue out at her. He did walk Ilhoon to the door like a gentleman so he wasn’t being entirely childish.

                “I’ll see you at the card game, okay?” Sehun nodded. The card game was a week away and he didn’t want to wait that long, but he was trying to remember that Ilhoon was planning for the bank job and trying to deal with Hyunseung both. Ilhoon was busy, and hesitating with his hand on the door knob. He turned, pecked Sehun’s mouth, and was out the door before Sehun could even respond.

                The week passed faster than Sehun thought it would. The day after he saw Ilhoon Hyuna and E’dawn had taken him out to get a suit tailored, it was high quality black on black on black. He wasn’t really one to wear suits, but they were paying, and paying a lot, so why not? He also got the feeling there was a dress code to this event so it wasn’t like he could wear jeans and a ratty t-shirt.

                He got dressed at their place and when he put on the finished product he looked hot as fuck, seriously. He almost turned himself on. Hyuna suggested he dye his hair so he had asked one of the girls to redo it, and sure Hyuna probably didn’t mean for him to keep it orange but whatever, he liked it. Hyuna had groaned but still laughed when she saw it. Sehun managed to snuff out any fun they were having when he asked where Ilhoon was. Hyuna had tensed, narrowed her eyes at nothing and particular, and informed him that Ilhoon was getting ready with the boss. Sehun figured Ilhoon didn’t have much say in that.

                When they arrived at the high rise just outside of the slums Sehun knew immediately he did not belong here. There was staff, in suits, handing out champagne in what were probably crystal flutes. Glistening bottles of ‘Cristal’ on display. There was food that was definitely not Korean, it was small and ornate and parts of it were gold. Hyuna and E’dawn had immediately abandoned him to the sea of fancy faces. Luckily some were familiar.

                “Sehun! I didn’t expect to see you here.” Seungri had a champagne flute in either hand but still managed to sling an arm around Sehun’s shoulders. Yixing was there too, but instead of champagne he was double fisting what looked like small cakes. Petifours? Petit fours? Whatever.

                “What are you guys doing here?” Seungri scoffed into the champagne he was downing.

                “We are in charge of prostitution, there are a ton of rich business men here, of course we were invited.”

                “Sucks about your brother getting uninvited though.” Yixing added. Sehun hadn’t head about his brother even being invited in the first place. His brother hadn’t been home much in the last week, and while Sehun enjoyed having a bedroom to himself he also worried. And now apparently his brother had gotten himself uninvited?

                “You didn’t know?” Yixing was an angel, cute and masculine all in one, and he was a nice guy. Sehun liked that about him.

                “No, I didn’t. I’ve been busy.” Seungri laughed in his ear and Sehun could smell the champagne on his breath. How much had he already had, damn? But hey, it was free and Seungri was a fun drunk.

                “He’s been busy too! Losing all his money to the card sharks who run that gambling den down on Segil.” Seungri found it a lot more amusing than Sehun and Yixing did. Luna had said his brother was gambling, but he didn’t realize it was bad enough that he was getting uninvited by the boss. That would not make him happy. Especially considering Sehun was invited.

                “He’s really off the rails lately huh? You got a handle on him?” Yixing stuffed both cakes into his mouth at once.

                “Yeah. Luna and I have it under control.” Except they really fucking did not have it under control. It was best not to let the people his brother was gunning for know that though. Then Sehun saw Ilhoon and he was distracted. Ilhoon was wearing a glittering suit jacket and exquisite diamond earrings that were shining from a mile away and must have cost more than most people made in a year. He was also wearing make-up, but not like he had been when he was Tiffany, this was faint and highlighted his good looks. He looked like a damn idol.

                “Too bad he belongs to the boss huh? I’d really like to work with that.” It took Sehun a minute to remember that Seungri was in charge of male prostitutes but the second he did he was glaring hard into the side of Seungri’s perfect head.

                “What? You don’t think he could make a lot of money?” Ilhoon was laughing a light, totally fake laugh and touching the arm of some asshole. He could make a ton of money. Yixing nudged Sehun’s shoulder and Sehun forced his attention away. Inconspicuous, they were supposed to be inconspicuous. They way Seungri was smirking at him said he was being anything but.

                “Speaking of a lot of money, did you hear about who this game is for?” Thank you Yixing for being the perfect friend who doesn’t let your other friends destroy you on what had the potential to be a fun night. He hadn’t heard though, not really.

                “Some rich couple?” Yixing snagged some champagne for them both as the waiter passed, Seungri snagged some for himself.

                “Yeah, they’re involved with some company that imports oil from Saudi Arabia? They’re like, the really rich. Apparently the boss went all out for them.” Sehun was so glad that Yixing was way more informed than he was.

                “I hope he doesn’t stretch himself too thin. I heard the boss’ accountants lost a ton of money a couple of weeks ago.” Seungri was well informed too. How they hell did everyone know so much more than him? His eyes caught Ilhoon’s, then darted down to Ilhoon’s colored lips, and Ilhoon smirked at him. Oh yeah, that’s why. He had his own secrets and rumors to deal with.

                “You must be the ones in charge of sex work.” Seungri was snickering at the term sex work but Sehun knew that voice. Chorong was standing in front of him, hands folded across her chest. She was wearing enough jewels she might as well be a damn treasure chest.

                “Yeah, interested?” Yixing glared at Seungri the best he could, he wasn’t an angry looking person but it seemed to have some effect.

                “You’re the one this whole party is for right?” Yixing said it more for Sehun and Seungri than for Chorong. She laughed it off and waved a decorated hand in the air as if to say ‘what, this little shindig? This barely registers on my scale of parties it’s so small and boring’. Or maybe Sehun was reading too much into it. Who the hell was Chorong anyway?

                “That’s right. I’m Daeun Kim, ah and my husband,” Changsub slid an arm around her waist and smiled at them. “Yejoon Kim.” That wasn’t right. Those weren’t their names… right? Weren’t they performers? Sehun definitely remembers them talking about being performers. Changsub held his hand out to shake theirs and they all accepted awkwardly. He laughed at them but it was friendly and warm.

                “We hope you enjoy the party, play a few games. Maybe stick around for the grand finale?” It sounded innocent enough, and judging by the loosening of Seungri and Yixing’s posture the relaxing tone was doing its job, but Changsub’s eyes were fierce against his own. Sehun felt like he had to say something. What that something was he had no idea.

                “We’ll definitely stick around.” It seemed to be the right thing to say because Chorong smirked the smallest smirk at him.

                “We promise it will be entertaining.”


	17. Aces Wild

                Sehun wasn’t oblivious. No matter how much people gave him ‘the look’ he wasn’t an idiot, and he could be observant when he wanted to be. Yixing and Seungri were great company, really they were, but he could drown out half of their conversations and it made no difference, he didn’t care about how business was going and they didn’t expect him to.

                The first thing Sehun noticed was Ilhoon, because of course he was. Ilhoon was smiling and laughing at stupid jokes told by businessmen with too much money. They loved it, and Sehun caught their hands hovering over Ilhoon’s waist more than once, but they wouldn’t touch him. Probably because the boss was doing enough of it himself. The boss had his hand on the small of Ilhoon’s back whenever he wasn’t doing something else, pulling Ilhoon around as he mingled with the less than reputable men in charge of the city, the white-collar criminals.

                Ilhoon was a decoration. His celebrity style makeup made sense because to the boss he was just another pretty accessory to show off. Ilhoon wasn’t fighting it either, instead he was leaning into his role. He was dazzling the boss’ contacts with his perfect smile and well-placed hand on an arm here, or a shoulder there. Sehun almost wanted to be angry about it, but he knew there had to be a reason. Ilhoon didn’t like the boss and he wasn’t playing his part because he liked it. And damn did he have a pretty mouth, whatever was on it was giving Sehun dirty thoughts. That was probably the point.

                Then he noticed Hyunseung, who was apparently already drunk and getting angry. They were barely half-way through the evening and it was clear he was losing badly. Ilhoon wasn’t kidding when he said that motherfucker liked to gamble. Thankfully he was playing at a table with a dealer who was not going to take his shit, if her serious, no-nonsense face was anything to go by. But Sehun also noticed a waiter serving alcohol to Hyunseung more than the other players and he couldn’t shake the feeling it was intentional.

                Hyuna and E’dawn were laughing to each other, standing by a tower of champagne bottles away from the crowd. They looked amazing and in love, but Hyuna had an eye on Ilhoon at all times. She was like a hawk. When her eyes met Sehun’s there was a moment of strange understanding. She was doing her best to convey trust and comfort and Sehun felt it. It was warm through him, just like the champagne he was downing in one gulp.

                Last, but certainly not least, he noticed Changsub and Chorong making their way through the tables. Or was it Daeun and Yejoon? They were chatting up and talking business and damn did they ooze charisma like Sehun had never seen. Even when they were losing they were laughing it off like they had all the money and time in the world. He could almost see the guard crumbling down around the other players.

                If he wasn’t scrutinizing their every move he probably wouldn’t have seen the full house in Chorong’s hand right before she folded. He probably wouldn’t have noticed she folded right as the boss was passing by, making a show of how simple it was for her to lose all that money, Changsub laughing along with his wife. And he definitely wouldn’t notice the subtle catch of eyes between Ilhoon and Chorong.

                “We’re going to go play a couple games, what about you?” Yixing was looking at him expectantly but Sehun didn’t want to play. There was way too much going on right now and he was never great at cards. He was more the down and dirty dice in the alley type of gambler. Ah, fuck it. He took the seat next to Seungri and met eyes with the boss.

                “Maybe I shouldn’t play against all three of you at once.” The boss laughed at himself as if he made a joke. Sehun hadn’t met the boss before now, he was intimidating as shit, tall and stocky, with the eyes of a serial killer. Or what Sehun thought a serial killer’s eyes might look like. Terrifying, they were terrifying and serious. Ilhoon was looking down at them from his perch on the boss’ armrest.

                “Don’t worry, Sehun isn’t good at anything besides driving.” Sehun’s reaction was automatic. He was glaring, his brows knitted and his jaw was tight. Ilhoon’s eyes were amused but not cruel, Sehun got the feeling he wanted Sehun to be pissy.

                “Don’t be a bitch.” The boss’ voice was stern but Ilhoon rolled his eyes, glancing around the party like this game was beneath him. The dealer dealt them their cards but Sehun couldn’t focus on it. He was doing his best not to focus on the Boss’ arm around Ilhoon either.

                “Don’t get along, huh?” Seungri was always one to say whatever the fuck came to mind. Seungri wasn’t really paying attention though, he was desperately trying to flag down a server for more champagne.

                “Ilhoon can be stuck up at the best of times.” Sehun could play along, it’s not like it wasn’t somewhat true. Ilhoon smiled for a nanosecond, if Sehun wasn’t aware of every single thing Ilhoon’s mouth did he wouldn’t have noticed it. The boss laughed in agreement and smacked hard against Ilhoon’s back. He stumbled a bit, catching himself on the table.

                “Not wanting to slum it with people below my paygrade doesn’t make me stuck up.” It was Sehun’s turn to roll his eyes and did he just call? He couldn’t even remember what cards he had been dealt. Oh, a nine and ten, great.

                “I think that’s an exact example of being stuck up.” Ilhoon tensed in fake anger at Sehun. Some lady in a white suit at the other end of the table raised. Sehun was going to lose this hand but the bet wasn’t that high. Maybe the flop would be kind to him. Everyone matched her bet.

                “I’m going to find Hyuna.” Ilhoon was gone before anyone could stop him. The flop was not kind to Sehun. A seven, four, and a queen, all different suits. It was probably best not to leave right after Ilhoon though, so he called.

                “Ilhoon can be very stubborn.” The boss was talking to him, staring into his soul so hard Yixing was fidgeting on the other side of Seungri under the weight of it. “If he gets too bad you tell me, I’ll put him back in line.” The boss was laughing about it but Sehun was sure the boss meant it, and how exactly the boss intended to ‘put him back in line’ made Sehun’s skin squirm.

                “I’ll keep that in mind.” Sehun tried his best to sound like he was taking the boss’ offer seriously, but not too seriously. He was not cut out for this level of crime, it was too many mind games and twisted political nonsense. Walking through a literal minefield felt less dangerous. Someone had raised and Sehun matched their bet, shitty hand be damned.

                “You can’t kick me out! Let go of me!” Hyunseung was screaming and kicking at security as they drug him out. He was beyond wasted, slurring and stumbling. Free booze was an amazing weapon, more so against people with anger issues. Still, this seemed like a perfect time to play his part in the Hyunseung ratting them out issue.

                “What’s that guy’s problem?” The boss shook his head like he’d been dealing with this for ages.

                “That’s Hyunseung, you haven’t met him?”

                “No. Should I have?” The dealer redirected everyone’s attention back to the game. The boss raised.

                “No, he’s just some incompetent asshole that works for me.” Everyone matched the boss’ bet, even Sehun. If the boss was this charming about all his employees Sehun wondered how anyone could stand working for him. Maybe his brother turning into an asshole was all in the name of a promotion, that seemed to be what got you into power these days. The turn was another queen and there was no saving Sehun’s hand. He folded.

                “I’ll see you guys later, I’m going to have some of the champagne I’m paying for with my losses.” The boss laughed deep in his belly and hey, at least he thought Sehun was funny. That was good right? He wandered over to a champagne tower and implemented Seungri’s double champagne plan. He may be funny but really he wasn’t kidding.

                “Don’t you look too sexy in that suit to be hiding in the corner?” Ilhoon was standing close, nudging Sehun over just a little more so they were obscured. Sehun shrugged and downed the first glass.

                “I lost at cards and I was thoroughly insulted in front of the boss.” Ilhoon didn’t look guilty, if anything he looked satisfied, staring out at the party like Sehun barely had his attention. “I told the boss I had never met Hyunseung.” Ilhoon snapped that attention his way so fast it almost knocked Sehun over.

                “You did what?”

                “He was making a scene so I asked what his deal was. The boss doesn’t seem very happy about him.” Ilhoon was smirking, pleased at the current turn of events. “Also, Daeun and Yejoon?”

                “I’ll tell you all about it later, but right now could you help me in the kitchen?” Sehun sighed. He didn’t want to work tonight, damn it, but helping in the kitchen shouldn’t be that hard. Well, depending on what exactly Ilhoon would have him doing.

                “Lead the way.” He followed behind Ilhoon like the good servant he was, past the flowing champagne, the delicious snacks. He cast a forlorn gaze out into the party, saying goodbye to the jovial faces as he resigned himself to work. The glistening revelry gave way to a fluorescent staff hallway. Really he just wanted to pout about it. He knew he wasn’t really going to do work work but he wanted to give Ilhoon at least a little shit.

                Sehun let out a startled yelp as Ilhoon shoved him sideways into what appeared to be a supply closet. Ilhoon had a hand on his chest, pushing him into the wall and he obeyed it, letting his back hit the cold cement. When the light flicked on Ilhoon was in front of him, almost pressed against him, looking up at him with a playful sparkle in his eyes. Ilhoon’s lips hovered dangerously close to his. It took everything he had not to move just half an inch and kiss him. He could practically feel Ilhoon smirking from this distance.

                “You’ve been staring at my lips a lot tonight.” Sehun wanted to protest but he definitely had been, and not just tonight. It wasn’t exactly a secret that he liked Ilhoon’s mouth.

                “It’s the lipstick.” Ilhoon huffed a short breath, Sehun could barely feel it even with their proximity.

                “It’s not lipstick, it’s tinted lip balm.” Sehun let his hands wander from his own sides where he was clenching them to Ilhoon’s hips, grazing thumbs over hipbones. If Ilhoon’s damn shirt wasn’t tucked in he would have his hands underneath it, but this would have to do for now. Ilhoon responded by leaning into the taller man, a thigh slotted between Sehun’s own. Sehun dropped his mouth to Ilhoon’s neck. He couldn’t kiss him on the lips but Sehun needed to get his mouth on something. He felt Ilhoon’s hum of approval vibrate through him.

                “We shouldn’t do this here.” Sehun’s words were lost against Ilhoon’s skin. It was just a token protest, more a statement of facts than a plea to stop. Sehun really didn’t want to stop. He felt hands running up his chest under his shirt, apparently a tucked in shirt wasn’t enough to deter Ilhoon, and he moaned into a sharp collarbone at the sensation.

                “You want to stop?”

                “No.” Then suddenly Ilhoon was gone. It took a second for Sehun’s brain to catch up with the sudden absence and by the time he realized Ilhoon was on his knees nimble fingers were already opening up his belt. Holy shit.

                “Wait, you don’t have to.” Ilhoon was smiling up at him, half smug, half full of affection at how considerate Sehun was.

                “I know.” Then there were hands on his cock. Sehun thunked his head hard against the wall behind him, forearm across his mouth in a mostly successful attempt to stifle a moan. Ilhoon’s hands were cold and too dry, something Sehun never thought he’d be thankful for, but it helped him keep from coming in an instant. When the fuck had he started coming so easily from hand jobs?

                “You have to be quiet.” Sehun gave a breathy laugh and looked down to meet Ilhoon’s mischievous look.

                “What do you think I’m trying to do?” Ilhoon answered with a mouth on the tip of his cock and Sehun groaned low in his throat. He fought every instinct to close his eyes and look away, he wanted to see. He watched Ilhoon with such intensity he worried for a brief second that he might burn a hole in him. Ilhoon kept his eyes on Sehun’s face and swirled his tongue around Sehun’s head. Sehun let his nails dig hard into his palms to keep him from grabbing Ilhoon’s styled hair.

                It was probably a good thing Ilhoon wasn’t going any farther than the tip, Sehun was already using every bit of self-control he had. Then Ilhoon hummed and slid his mouth down until Sehun was hitting the back of his throat and holy God forgive him but Sehun was only a man. His fingers were tangled in Ilhoon’s hair, tight against his scalp before Sehun could stop himself. Ilhoon didn’t seem to have any objections to it though, instead he moaned at the sensation, and with his dick almost completely in Ilhoon’s mouth Sehun felt it through his whole body like lightning.

                Ilhoon pulled back, slowly, letting his tongue drag across the underside of Sehun’s cock, then moved forward again. The pace was torturous, too slow for Sehun to come but fast enough that he felt right on the edge. If he was in the right mindset, and wasn’t completely immersed in the image of Ilhoon deepthroating him, he would pat himself on the back for not thrusting forward. As it was, he was kind of a mess. His lips were parted as he worked through deep breaths and tried to keep his mumbling and moaning to a minimum.

                He could feel Ilhoon’s name in his mouth, knew he was whispering it, but he could barely hear himself. He pulled Ilhoon’s hair as gently as he could manage and groaned too loudly for the closet they had stowed away in. It only made Ilhoon increase his pace, taking as much of Sehun in as he could, deeper each time he moved forward. Sehun knew how big he was and he seriously needed to remember to give Ilhoon a fucking medal after this. The same time he felt one of Ilhoon’s hands on his balls he felt the telltale tightening in his stomach.

                “I’m going to come.” He tried to pull Ilhoon off his dick by tugging his hair, but Ilhoon wasn’t having it. He just kept up the quickened pace and made eye contact. Sehun thrust forward slightly, unintentionally, but Ilhoon didn’t pull back, he moaned and pulled on Sehun’s hip to encourage him to do it again. So Sehun did, careful to keep his thrusts shallow. Ilhoon met each one as deeply as he could until he was whimpering on Sehun’s dick.

                “Ah, God, fuck,” Sehun’s voice came out raspy and ragged. He didn’t have a chance to warn Ilhoon a second time, not that it would have mattered, before he was coming down Ilhoon’s throat. He felt Ilhoon swallowing around him, bobbing his head until he worked everything he could out of Sehun. Sehun was breathing so hard he was almost whining, he felt like he just ran a damn triathlon, events including self-control, coming, and keeping your damn voice down.

                Ilhoon tucked him back into his pants, even did his belt back up, before Sehun felt like himself again. He took in Ilhoon’s appearance. At least his clothes still looked immaculate, but he had ruffled hair where fingers had tugged it, and smeared lipstic- balm. Lip balm. From sucking a dick. If they weren’t in such a hurry Sehun would be hard again in an instant just looking at him.

                “Here, you’ve got lipstick everywhere.”

                “Lip balm.” He pulled Ilhoon forward and used the underside of his own button up to wipe away the “lip balm”. Thank God he wore the black shirt today. Ilhoon closed his eyes and let Sehun scrub at his mouth until he was satisfied it was all off. The second he was he hauled Ilhoon even closer, wrapping his arms around the smaller man’s waist in a tight embrace and sealing their lips together. When he worked his tongue into Ilhoon’s mouth he could taste himself. When did that get so hot?

                Ilhoon resisted putting his hands in Sehun’s hair, opting to rest them on his neck instead, thumbs on Sehun’s jaw. If Sehun wasn’t careful they’d been spending a lot more time in this stupid fucking closest than was safe, but he couldn’t help himself. He spun Ilhoon around and pressed him into the wall, letting a hand roam down to his hip. Ilhoon sighed in pleasure at the weight of Sehun’s body against his. When Sehun let his hand drop down to Ilhoon’s half-hard dick he broke their kiss with a moan.

                “Wait, stop.” Sehun did, he pulled his hand back up to Ilhoon’s waist and stepped back half a step to give Ilhoon some space.

                “We don’t have time.” Sehun knew Ilhoon was right, even though he hated it. He wasn’t usually one to get off if his partner didn’t but exceptions had to be made sometimes. So this time he kissed Ilhoon softly, with no tongue, and only for a second.

                “Let me see your lipstick.” Ilhoon glared but complied, stuffing a small tube into Sehun’s hand a lot more forcefully than necessary. Well color him surprised. No really. It was Etude House Tinted Lip Balm in ‘Color Him Surprised’. He took Ilhoon’s chin into his hand and applied the balm as carefully as he could. He had done it for some of the girls before but it never felt as intimate as this. When he finished that he tugged and plucked at Ilhoon’s hair, working it back into place so it looked a lot more styled and a lot less ‘I just got fucked’.

                “There, done.” Ilhoon smiled at him and stuffed the balm back into his pocket.

                “Thanks.” Sehun laughed as he tucked his own shirt back in, straightening his clothes the best he could.

                “I think I’m the one who should be thanking you.” He snuck in one last kiss to Ilhoon’s neck before they opened the door to reality, the party, whatever.

                “And trust me, later I’m really going to thank you.” Sehun made sure his voice was deep and sexy. Ilhoon responded with a pointed elbow to the solar plexus but he was flushed red to the tips of his ears and Sehun counted that as a win.

                For the most part no one noticed their return, the night was at the point where most people had at least a small buzz, enough to dull their attention, but Hyuna was smiling at them. Or grimacing at them, Sehun couldn’t be sure. He could be sure that she definitely saw them disappear together. Ilhoon didn’t say anything to Sehun before abandoning him for Hyuna’s company instead.

                That probably had something to do with the fact the boss was standing up from his game with Yixing and Seungri, clearly pleased with his winnings but still scanning the crowd for his favorite piece of jewelry. Ilhoon, Sehun meant Ilhoon. Sehun wanted one more drink but he had a feeling he’d want to be sober for the rest of the night. Plus he came so hard earlier he was already a little fuzzy headed.

                “Having fun?” E’dawn looked bored, maybe he really hated cards, but that may have just been his face.

                “Yeah, I guess so.” Part of the night had certainly been fun, other parts not so much. E’dawn looked back to where dealers were closing down tables, leaving the two of them in silence. It wasn’t awkward, but Sehun still grabbed a passing glass of champagne. Fuck his no more drinks rule, one would be fine.

                “You guys aren’t great at keeping your hands to yourselves huh?” Sehun snorted into the flute right as he tried to take a drink, spilling some down his neck. For the second time that night he was thankful to be wearing black.

                “Don’t worry, only Hyuna and I noticed you. But seriously? The boss is right there.” E’dawn didn’t look angry, if anything he looked amused. Too bad the atmosphere couldn’t last, Changsub and Chorong had taken their seats at the center table and were waiting patiently for the boss and a couple other high rollers to join them. They were beacons of calm in a sea of apprehension. It was almost unnerving.

                “I heard from Seungri the boss recently lost some money.” E’dawn half smiled at him, too knowing for someone who seemed the least criminal of them all.

                “Lost is a nice way to put it. Someone stole it.” So everyone knew more about it than he did, eh, they were all closer to the boss than he was so of course they would know. He had enough to deal with in the prostitution world right now, but that excuse was getting old and he wanted to be in the know.

                “Who?”

                “Should we go watch the final game?” Sehun felt like E’dawn had just let him in on something very important and it was killing him not to push farther, but he also knew there wasn’t any point in trying to pry information out of people who weren’t going to give it to him. For now he simply followed E’dawn to the crowd of people amassing at the card table.

                Chorong and Changsub were sitting next to each other, perfect hair, perfect makeup, perfect everything, so perfect in fact they couldn’t be real people. Even the boss gave off an aura of unease at the high stakes of the game. They gave off an aura of comfort. The other people at the table, and hey, white suit lady was one of them, seemed to feel the nature of the game, it was like they knew they weren’t a part of it. Ilhoon wasn’t sitting at the boss’ side, he was standing at his back, all rigid posture and arms crossed as he watched.

                When the game finally began the slick clack of the cards being dealt was the only sound in the air, the audience quiet in the intensity. White suit lady raised before the flop. Bold, but everyone matched her bet. The flop was all red, two hearts and diamond. Chorong raised. A man in a pinstripe suit sitting on her side folded.

                “It’s quite the pressure, hm?” She was laughing lightly, easy and carefree. The man nodded at her and ducked his head.

                “I hope no one’s betting anything they can’t lose.” The boss narrowed his eyes at her.

                “Of course, but what’s the point if there’s not a little stress right?” Changsub hummed in acknowledgement and matched Chorong’s bet.

                “Right, half the fun is the adrenaline isn’t it?” Changsub was smiling as he said it, friendly and comfortable. The boss raised. It could have been goading from Changsub and Chorong, but considering Sehun could see red whenever the boss flipped his cards up it could just be a good hand. Everyone matched his bet.

                The turn was black. If the boss was going for a flush it wasn’t good. Lady in white raised, the last no-name at the table folded. Everyone else matched. Lady in white was stone-faced. She had a great poker face, but it was still obviously a poker face. Changsub and Chorong apparently had no poker face, they were as animated as ever, but Sehun was starting to see why they called themselves performers.

                The river was a heart. Three hearts on the table meant the boss was in a good place to have a flush. Lady in white called, but it even Sehun could tell it was shaky. Changsub laughed, happy with his cards, and pushed everything to the center.

                “Certainly adding to the tension aren’t you, dear?” Chorong scolded and folded, Lady in white did the same. The boss was staring at the pile of money like Changsub had asked for his first born child or some shit. Just how much fucking money did he have stolen?

                “Might as well play big. Haven’t you heard go big or go home?” She patted Changsub on the arm and kissed his cheek.

                “Just please try to remember that is our money.” Their playful banter was enough reassurance for the boss and he pushed his money to the center. If he had a flush he had a solid chance to win, it probably wasn’t a real risk for him. But if that was the case just what the fuck were Changsub and Chorong doing here? Were they really just here to play cards? Sehun was fidgeting, just like everyone else who was watching.

                “You sure know how to make things exciting.” The boss was trying for good-natured.

                “It helps that you threw us such an amazing party! And free booze,” Changsub was waving a finger in the boss’ direction “smart way to loosen us up.” They all shared an amicable laugh before showing their cards. The boss did have a flush, hearts. Changsub had a straight.

                “Better luck next time.” The boss was dragging the armful of bills to his side of the table but Changsub stopped him with a hand on top of the boss’. He was suddenly serious. It switched the mood so quickly Sehun felt like the warm, yellow light suddenly turned grey.

                “Wait. One more game.” The boss straightened, standing with his arms crossed. Ilhoon stepped back to give him space.

                “Why play one more game when I won?” Changsub was fidgeting, nervous. Chorong had an arm around his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him.

                “Double the money, and we’ll play all in from the blind.” That was insane. Totally, one hundred percent insane. Ilhoon turned the boss away from the table to face him.

                “Don’t, it’s not a good idea.” The boss circled an arm around Ilhoon’s waist and pulled him flush against his front, bending to kiss Ilhoon quickly. Ilhoon grimaced.

                “Aw baby, don’t tell me what to do.” Ilhoon shoved away from him, face flush with anger, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. The boss pushed everything back into the center and waved over one of his security.

                “You both buy-in and I play against her.” Changsub nodded and waved over his own staff. Sehun hadn’t even realized Changsub and Chorong had staff. Chorong took the seat across from the boss. They waited in silence, it felt like no one was breathing. It was surprisingly fast for both staff members to come back with more money, each dumping it onto the table. Holy fuck that was a lot of money, more money than Sehun had ever seen. Did they have this lying around just in case?

                The clicking of the cards was like the timer on a bomb, each card that went down was another second closer to the end. Without betting this hand was going much faster. Too fast considering the amount of money on the line. The flop was a mismatched set of four, five, ace, no suits matching. The boss smiled for just a brief second, his mask slipping in the face of so much money.

                The turn was another four. The boss was smirking at Chorong openly now, not even bothering to hide his satisfaction. She refused to drop her eyes, staring the boss down in a way that made Sehun feel intimidated even though it wasn’t directed at him.

                “Are you ready to lose all of your husband’s money, little girl?” Sehun would bet his own money that he saw a flash of a grin on Chorong’s face, but it was lightning fast.

                “Who says it’s my husband’s money?” The boss snorted at Chorong dismissively. The river was an ace. There were two sets of two of a kind on the table. This could go either way. Sehun almost screamed when E’dawn grabbed his arm. They were both caught up in the game, on the edge of their seat.

                “Four of a kind.” The boss flipped his cards up, he had two fours.

                “Oh, me too.” Chorong tossed her two aces on top of his cards and leaned back. The next thing Sehun knew there were guns everywhere. The security on the boss’ side had guns aimed at the security on Changsub and Chorong’s side and vice versa. The boss himself had his gun trained right at Chorong’s head. Sehun’s whole body was tight but he was thoroughly impressed by Chorong and Changsub, they didn’t even flinch.

                “We don’t want a shootout, do we?” Changsub was chuckling through the question, like he was dealing with children fighting over toys. “First you lose all this money and then you die? That’s not good for business.” The boss was glaring hard.

                “You cheated.” Chorong scoffed at the accusation.

                “We most certainly did not.” The boss was grinding his teeth so hard Sehun thought his teeth might crumble out of his head at any second.

                “Now, we’re going to take our money and walk out of here.” Chorong continued as if she couldn’t sense his anger at all, standing and stretching. “I’m sure you don’t want to turn this beautiful loft into the damn wild west.” She was right and the boss lowered his gun, motioning for his staff to do the same.

                “The rest of you. Out. Now.” The guests started filing out. Seungri and Yixing waved at him, drunk and perfectly happy with how the evening went. He waved back and started on his own way out with E’dawn.

                “Not you four.” The boss growled it out to no one in particular but ‘you four’ knew exactly who they were and Sehun stopped dead in his tracks. None of them moved again until everyone, including Changsub and Chorong and their bags of money, had left.

                “I told you not to do it.” Despite everything Ilhoon had the shit idea to be a smart ass and Sehun wasn’t sure if he should applaud him or cry for him. Considering just how much the boss did not like it Sehun was leaning towards cry. The boss had Ilhoon by the neck, squeezing but not hard, and he pulled Ilhoon closer.

                “Watch your mouth.” Ilhoon’s thin fingers were curled around the boss’ wrist.

                “Let me go.” The boss shoved him away and Ilhoon stumbled a step back.

                “Hyuna.” She stepped forward, eyes on Ilhoon but not moving to help him. The boss ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

                “The bank job. When are you doing it?”

                “Two weeks, sir. We’ve… run into a few issues but we’re working around them.” The boss didn’t seem happy with the timeline, not that they could do anything about it.

                “It’s not good enough, I need money now.” He was growling out the words but to Hyuna’s credit she stood firm.

                “That’s the soonest we can possibly do it.” Sehun felt useless in all this, E’dawn must have too. They were standing lamely in the back like spectators.

                “I need money now!”

                “Joo has money.” Ilhoon offered. The boss was scrutinizing him.

                “And you’re what, going to give it to me?” The boss didn’t sound convinced. He may like to pretend he owns Ilhoon but he’s not an idiot.

                “I’ll loan it to you, and keep my entire cut from the bank job.” The boss was holding him by the waist, smiling a slimy, sarcastic smile down at him.

                “And what do you want, baby?” Ilhoon pushed out of his hold.

                “In a perfect world I want you to stop calling me baby. In this world I just want to keep the slums from falling apart under your mismanagement.” Sehun felt his heart pounding. Could Ilhoon say that? Should he be saying that? Hyuna didn’t seem put off by it so that was a good sign but really? Sehun was going to panic enough for all of them. The boss had a hard grip on Ilhoon’s wrist.

                “You keep talking to me like that and I’ll find a better use for that mouth, do you understand me?” Ilhoon was glaring but wasn’t fighting against the boss’ hold.

                “Yes, sir.” The boss let go and waved them out.

                “Get out and go make me some fucking money.” None of them needed to be told twice. They were out and in the elevator before Sehun could even exhale his shaky breath. The rode down quietly next to each other and Sehun watch he floors ding by. Each number that passed eased his nerves a little bit more until he finally felt like himself again. Too bad his normal self didn’t have a great filter.

                “I know a good use for that mouth.” Ilhoon shoved him from behind and he lost his balance, smacking into the elevator door. Hyuna and E’dawn were laughing so Sehun felt totally safe in laughing with them. Ilhoon rolled his eyes but he was smiling too.

                “See if I ever blow you in secret again.” Hyuna laughed harder.

                “It wasn’t exactly that secret.” E’dawn added and earned himself a glare. Hyuna was laughing so hard she was crying. Ilhoon noticed the tears and joined in, laughing until he had to hold his sides, and wasn’t like Sehun and E’dawn could just not laugh when the other two were laughing so hard they couldn’t form words. Sehun may not know everything that was going on, but he knew he’d put up with the boss ten times over to be a part of whatever this was.


	18. Love and War

                Sehun’s brother was home the day after the card game. It was a surprise considering he hadn’t been home most of the week before, but Sehun quickly realized just why he was hanging around. He wanted to be an asshole. He was bitching about Sehun going in his place, even though that’s not what happened, grumbling about Sehun siding with Yixing and Seungri against him, again, not what was happening, and he was generally being angry about everything.

                By the late afternoon Sehun couldn’t take it anymore. He was trying his damn best to organize an escape route so he could try it out before the end of the week when he met up with Hyuna. He wanted time to plan another if this one didn’t feel right and his brother was seriously cutting in to that time with his bullshit.

                “If you’re going to be a pissy little bitch about everything why don’t you just leave!?” Sehun wasn’t screaming, but he wanted to be. There was exasperation in his voice, thick enough that even Luna winced from where she was watching tv. Sehun didn’t mean to rock the boat when his brother was already not exactly stable but c’mon. He had serious work.

                “Fine! I know when I’m not wanted!” No, he really didn’t. “And don’t wait up!” His brother slammed the door on his way out. He didn’t take anything, including a change of clothes. Where was he going that he didn’t need clothes? Or more clothes anyway. Sehun should be more upset. How could he be upset when he got the bedroom to himself though?

                Once his brother was gone Sehun did manage to get some work done, Luna’s quiet tv program the perfect background noise, and by early evening he had a tentative route sketched out. It couldn’t hurt to go over it with Ilhoon, and he had some burning questions from last night that he didn’t have time to ask before. With his bedroom free they would actually have some real privacy for once. Ilhoon picked up on the third ring with a peppy, cutesy voice and agreed to come over in half an hour.

                Luna was smiling into the hand she was resting on. She didn’t look over to meet his eyes but she didn’t need to. Sehun flushed when he thought about just what that privacy implied. He hadn’t even thought about it. He was hungry for truth, damn it, not Ilhoon’s small body beneath his, writhing and moaning and begging and okay so maybe he wanted more than just truth. It didn’t matter, Ilhoon had a curfew. Ilhoon arrived exactly when he said he would, almost to the minute.

                “Is this it?” Ilhoon was kneeling at the coffee table, leafing through Sehun’s notebook before Sehun even had the door closed.

                “Yeah, I think I’ll give it a try tomorrow. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.” Ilhoon was nodding, focused as his eyes traced along Sehun’s decided path.

                “Is this that parking garage?” Sehun hovered over Ilhoon but didn’t kneel beside him, his current goal was to get Ilhoon to the bedroom. Not in a dirty way. Definitely not in a dirty way. He was not going to think about Ilhoon on his knees in front of him. Just like he didn’t think about it last night in the shower.

                “Yeah, there weren’t many security cameras there so it could be a good safety net.”

                “We could always hire a couple of vandals to smash them up or paint over them the morning before we go in too.”

                “If you two are going to talk over my show can you go to Sehun’s bedroom or something?” Sehun needed to buy Luna a present, no a thousand presents, and the way she was smiling at him said she knew what his intentions were. Not that she did know, because his intentions were pure. Mostly. Ilhoon was grabbing all of the papers Sehun had laid out without a second thought.

                “Sorry noona, I didn’t notice you were there.” He barely looked up at her and she just sighed like dealing with their shit was harder than working for twelve hours straight. Ilhoon followed Sehun to the bedroom, dropping the armload of papers onto one of the beds. How he knew it was Sehun’s was a mystery. He was ready to keep working but Sehun had a different idea, stopping him from sitting with a gentle hold on Ilhoon’s elbow.

                “Who stole the boss’ money a couple weeks ago?” Ilhoon looked startled. Sehun almost regretted catching him off guard.

                “I did.” That was easier than Sehun had thought it was going to be, except ‘I did’ didn’t really give him much information about just what the in the. Actual. Fuck. was going on.

                “You did?”

                “Well, Changsub, Chorong, and I did.” Ilhoon sat and started arranging the papers into a stack, notebooks on the bottom. “They had to have some money to gamble with right?” Sehun sat down next to Ilhoon and accepted the neatly organized pile. Ilhoon was looking at him with a cheeky half smile.

                “So the gambling then…” Sehun reached across Ilhoon to stuff the papers into a drawer on the nightstand, trying his best to keep them in order. “Just a way to take more money from the boss?” Ilhoon shrugged.

                “It’s more than that. It was a way for the boss to lose money publicly.”

                “But you told him not to play the second hand.”

                “Yeah, because he would never listen to me in front of everyone.” Ilhoon’s was chewing on his thumbnail, anxious. “Listen, there’s a lot going on… I can’t, er…” Ilhoon rested his head on Sehun’s shoulder to break the eye contact. “I can’t tell you everything right now, okay?” Sehun couldn’t bring himself to ask for more.

                “Okay.” He leaned over to kiss Ilhoon. He meant it to be soft, less lust more feelings, but it lingered and Ilhoon parted his lips to work against Sehun’s. It’s not like Sehun could just not kiss back. But no tongue, he would draw the line at tongue. Ilhoon ran his hands up Sehun’s neck and into his hair. Sehun was losing his resolve. When Ilhoon’s tongue slipped into his mouth he moved against it with his own and pushed Ilhoon onto the bed, settling himself between Ilhoon’s legs.

                Okay. Okay. Just some making out. Ilhoon would have to leave soon but they could just make out a little bit. He felt warm fingertips above the waist band of his jeans, under his shirt and he broke their kiss.

                “What time do you have to be back?” Ilhoon leaned up to kiss his neck in reply, sucking and licking light enough that there wouldn’t be a mark. He worked his way up until his mouth was on Sehun’s ear.

                “Doojoon is there so not until tomorrow morning.” Sehun pulled back so he was on his knees and ripped his shirt over his head.

                “Get your clothes off.” Ilhoon laughed at his eagerness but shuffled around until his own shirt was on the floor next to Sehun’s.

                “When is your brother coming home?” Sehun was undoing the button on his pants when Ilhoon sat up and stopped him, replacing Sehun’s hurried fingers with his own slower ones.

                “Not until tomorrow.” Ilhoon moved forward to kiss at Sehun’s stomach, pulling down Sehun’s zipper teasingly slow.

                “Then we don’t have to rush right?” But Sehun wanted to rush. He wanted everything right now. But Ilhoon did have a point, and Sehun knew there would plenty of times in the future where time would be an issue. Ilhoon was kissing up his abdomen, stopping at a nipple to suck and bite. Sehun groaned and jerked Ilhoon up so he could lock their lips back together.

                Sehun was holding either side of Ilhoon’s face, but Ilhoon had his hands on Sehun’s undone jeans, dragging them down just far enough that Sehun’s cock sprang free. Sehun gasped when Ilhoon gripped him, swiping a thumb over the tip. He buried his face in the junction of Ilhoon’s neck and shoulder, letting his hands fall to Ilhoon’s back. Ilhoon stroked him until he was thrusting forward reflexively.

                Ilhoon moved to lie down and he pulled Sehun forward onto him with a hand on the back of Sehun’s neck. Sehun obeyed, but Ilhoon was still touching him and Sehun was losing it. He braced himself on his elbows to keep his full weight off the man under him.

                “Ah, if you keep doing that…” He moaned when Ilhoon tightened his grip. It was just the right amount of pressure and Sehun felt his brain going foggy.

                “Sehunnie, I need you.” Ilhoon breathed the words out in that desperate whimper of his and that was all it took for Sehun to come across Ilhoon’s belly. Sehun took a minute to collect himself before he pulled back to look at Ilhoon’s face and… apologize maybe? But Ilhoon was looking up at him with a smug grin.

                “You knew exactly what you were doing.” Ilhoon fluttered his lashes and gave Sehun’s spent cock one more stroke. Sehun bumped his forehead against Ilhoon’s and whined.

                “I don’t know what you mean.” Ilhoon tilted his head to peck Sehun’s mouth. Sehun laughed.

                “I’m sure. But don’t worry, it doesn’t take me long.” Ilhoon wrapped his arms around Sehun and kissed him a little deeper this time.

                “Good because,” there was a slight pause, “I really need you to touch me.” The second part was definitely on the edge of the whimper and Sehun was totally right, Ilhoon knew exactly what he was doing.

                “I thought you didn’t want to rush.” Ilhoon thrust up against Sehun and his hard cock pressed into Sehun’s hip.

                “I changed my mind.” Sehun sat back on the bed and got an eyeful of Ilhoon, flushed, hard, and dotted with Sehun’s come. Yeah, it wouldn’t take him long at all, but they needed to be naked yesterday. He pulled Ilhoon’s jeans and underwear off in one fast yank. He was not in the mood to get kicked in the chest today.

                He flopped onto his back next to Ilhoon and kicked his own jeans off with absolutely no grace. Ilhoon didn’t seem to mind, he was laughing to himself at Sehun, breathy and soft. He stopped laughing when Sehun rolled over to kneel between his legs and suck a dark mark into Ilhoon’s pale inner thigh.

                Sehun had never sucked a dick before, but he knew what he liked on himself and fuck it, he was all in. He took Ilhoon as deeply into his throat as he could, it wasn’t as much as Sehun would have liked but he used his hand to make up for it. Ilhoon was moaning, head thrown back and fingers tangled in his own hair so Sehun knew he was doing something right.

                It didn’t take him long to get used to the rhythm, bobbing his head and working his hand at the same time. Ilhoon was turning into a mess and Sehun felt awfully fucking pleased with himself. When Ilhoon thrust up into his mouth Sehun didn’t even choke. Sure, it was barely a thrust, Ilhoon was mostly just writhing around desperate for release, but Sehun managed to keep up his pace.

                “Wait, wait, stop.” Sehun did as he was told, crawling back up to kiss Ilhoon gently on the lips.

                “What is it?” Ilhoon was breathing hard and trying to gather himself so Sehun gave him the minute he needed to get it together.

                “It’s just, I’m close. You should…” Ilhoon finally let go of his own hair so he could run shaky hands up Sehun’s biceps to his shoulder blades. “You should fuck me.” If Sehun wasn’t already half-hard that would have done the trick. One thing Sehun learned while living in a brothel was that you could never be over prepared, so he pressed his mouth against Ilhoon’s, rough and deep, while he reached into his nightstand drawer. It took a little fishing around, and sure the papers he has laid in there nicely were now in disarray, but he had found the lube and condoms.

                Sehun kissed Ilhoon one more time, one quick graze of their lips, before pushing back to sit between Ilhoon’s legs. He let his fingers trace over Ilhoon’s hipbones and the yellowish spot where the mark he left last week was fading, then down. Ilhoon shifted to give him room, spreading his legs farther on either side of Sehun.

                “Ready?” Ilhoon glared at him. So he was definitely ready. Sehun pushed a single lubed finger inside his entrance and Ilhoon’s glare dissolved into a flushed, lips parted moan. Ilhoon reached back behind his head to grab Sehun’s pillow, his body stretching out as he pushed himself onto Sehun’s hand. It was so sexy Sehun could barely stand it. He leaned forward to take one of Ilhoon’s nipples into his mouth. Ilhoon’s hand were instantly in his hair, tugging against his scalp.

                Sehun slipped another finger into Ilhoon and moved from his nipple to his collarbone then to his jaw. Ilhoon pulled his hair harder and Sehun groaned in response. He never really had a hair thing before, but he also never had a thing for dicks so what could you do? He was just going to go with it. With the way Ilhoon was almost sobbing, whispering his name and begging, Sehun was pretty sure anything that happened would be a turn-on.

                “Hold my wrists.” The command startled Sehun and he jolted back up to sitting, pulling his fingers out before he could think better of it. Ilhoon looked angry at the loss.

                “What?”

                “Hold my wrists.” Ilhoon put his wrists over his head as if it would encourage Sehun to obey, but Sehun was giving him a confused, worried look. “I don’t want to come yet and I’m going to if I touch myself, just hold them for a minute.”

                “I don’t…” Want to restrain you, take away your control, be like the boss, Sehun wanted to finish but the words wouldn’t come out. Ilhoon didn’t need them to understand why Sehun was hesitating.

                “It’s okay, I’m asking you to do it.” Well, he didn’t exactly ask but, “I know that you’ll let go if I want you to.” Ilhoon reached up to hold Sehun’s face and stared him down with blown pupils and serious eyes.

                “I trust you, but if you’re uncomfortable you don’t have to.” Sehun moved Ilhoon’s hands off his face and pushed them into the pillow over Ilhoon’s head. He could grip both of Ilhoon’s thin wrists in one hand but he kept his hold as light as possible. Ilhoon was smiling up at him and Sehun pressed his lips against it, trying to be reassuring. To be fair, it honestly didn’t seem like Ilhoon needed reassuring, he was already using a leg he had thrown over Sehun’s thigh to pull Sehun forward and speed things up.

                Sehun slipped two fingers back inside Ilhoon and he jerked his wrists against Sehun’s hold, groaning and panting. Sehun pushed deeper, curling his fingers just enough. Ilhoon rolled his hips down desperately and Sehun matched it, setting a slow rhythm. When he pressed a third finger in next to the others he felt Ilhoon tighten around them. There was a flash of worry that he had hurt him, but Ilhoon drove himself forward onto Sehun’s hand and came across his own stomach with a throaty moan.

                “You still came.” Sehun didn’t mean to laugh, but Ilhoon looked too fucked-out to be upset about it. Sehun released his hold on Ilhoon’s wrists and Ilhoon used his elbows to prop himself up. He looked almost shocked that he had come, and Sehun couldn’t help but feel a little smug that he made Ilhoon come without even touching his dick.

                “Thank God we’re young and healthy right?” Ilhoon was giving him a crooked grin, hair matted up in the back where he had his head against the pillow and it was too cute for Sehun to deal with right now. He was getting ready to roll over next to Ilhoon when Ilhoon stopped him with a leg against his side.

                “You should get inside me.” Sehun wouldn’t have to worry about the boss because Ilhoon was going to kill him. But who was he to say no? He was tearing open the condom with his teeth before he could think better of it.

                “You get tested regularly, don’t you?” The condom wrapper was still hanging lamely out his mouth while he stared down at Ilhoon. He almost didn’t catch the condom when it fell. His brain might be slow, but apparently his reflexes had his back.

                “Yeah, I went last month with the girls.”

                “You haven’t had sex since then?” Ilhoon wasn’t accusing, he didn’t sound jealous or angry, but did he really think Sehun had been fucking around since they were together? Or… whatever they were?

                “Uhm… no.” It suddenly dawned on him what Ilhoon was implying and he felt his dick twitch at the idea.

                “Me neither, I mean… I haven’t had sex since I was tested last.” Sehun was in agony, torn between being excited at the idea of fucking Ilhoon without a barrier, but also… had Ilhoon been fucking around? He couldn’t shake the jealousy, even if he knew he wasn’t technically dating Ilhoon.

                “When was that?” Ilhoon mumbled something in response and flushed. It wasn’t a horny flush, it was definitely an embarrassed flush. What the hell was he embarrassed about? Was it really recent? Sehun felt his chest tighten at the thought.

                “What?”

                “Two years ago.” Sehun was staring at him, blank. He did hear that right, didn’t he? Two. _Years_? Ilhoon’s eyebrows were furrowed and he was scowling at Sehun’s expressionless face.

                “Two years? You haven’t had sex in _two years_?” Ilhoon turned his head to the side and covered it with his arms. Sehun should try to be more understanding, Ilhoon was clearly flustered by it. But seriously he sucked dick really well considering it had been two years.

                “It just wasn’t worth it with the boss breathing down my neck.” Sehun could feel his dopey grin and didn’t even bother to stop it. That meant Ilhoon thought he was worth it. The first person to be worth it in two fucking years apparently.

                “Seriously though, how did you live? Two years. _Two years_.” Ilhoon kicked his shoulder and glared at him.

                “Ow! I’m sorry!” It didn’t really hurt, and Sehun was laughing so Ilhoon wasn’t going to believe it did. Ilhoon just kept looking up at him with an angry scowl and Sehun wanted to stop laughing but it was impossible. He had started and his body decided laughter was the best response to the situation. The pillow that smacked him across the side of the head only made it worse.

                “Why do I like you so much?” Sehun lifted Ilhoon by his hips and slid the pillow underneath them. He lined himself up with Ilhoon’s entrance and leaned over the other man so he could seal their lips together.

                “I’m about to give you a really good reason.” Sehun’s voice was low and gritty. Ilhoon opened his mouth to snark something back, but when Sehun breached him, sliding the tip in, he gasped instead. Ilhoon had his arms and legs around Sehun, hands grasping onto his shoulders like a lifeline, fingertips digging into tight shoulder muscles. His heels were pressed against Sehun’s ass, trying to pull Sehun closer, but Sehun was doing his best to be careful. He pushed into Ilhoon’s tight body at an agonizing pace, inch by inch.

                “Fuck, God, Sehunnie…” Ilhoon had his eyes screwed shut.

                “Are you okay? Does it hurt?” Sehun stilled, giving Ilhoon time to adjust to his size.

                “Nnng, it’s fine. Just…” Ilhoon adjusted his own hips slightly and there was a sharp intake of breath when Sehun’s dick hit just right inside him.

                “Oh God, right there, please, I need you to move.” Ilhoon was starting to babble, panting out his words against Sehun’s shoulder. Sehun pushed forward again until he was all the way inside Ilhoon. This time he wasn’t waiting for Ilhoon, he was waiting for himself. Ilhoon was tight and hot around him, it felt too good. Sehun circled his arms around Ilhoon before he pulled out, nearly all the way, and thrust back in in one hard, fast motion.

                Ilhoon moaned loudly and threw his head back, arching his back and pressing his chest against Sehun’s. Sehun had his face in Ilhoon’s neck as he set a punishing pace. He could hear the headboard clacking against the wall, could hear Ilhoon crying his name, knew it was too loud, but he didn’t have it in him to care. Ilhoon was squeezing him tightly, rolling his hips to meet Sehun’s thrust, forcing Sehun deeper into his body.

                “Ah, fuck, Sehunnie, I’m going to come.”

                “Me too.” Sehun didn’t slow down, but he did reach a hand between them to stroke Ilhoon’s cock. It was frantic and not in time with his hips, but each of Ilhoon’s breaths were turning into low whines of pleasure.

                “Come inside me.” Sehun groaned at the quiet command. He felt Ilhoon tighten around him and spill over his fingers and that was all it took. One more hard thrust, as deep as he could go, and he was coming inside Ilhoon. He collapsed on top of the smaller man, not ready to pull out, but if Ilhoon had any complaints about the weight on him he didn’t voice them. He was running tired fingers up and down Sehun’s back absentmindedly.

                After what felt like both and eternity and not long enough, Sehun had the energy to sit back, pulling out slowly. Ilhoon whimpered at the loss, but made no move to get up. Sehun rubbed his legs and kissed the side of his knee.

                “C’mon, we can shower.” Ilhoon shook his head.

                “No, I can’t walk. I’ll never walk again.” Sehun jerked him into a sitting position and Ilhoon grumbled, dead weighting into Sehun’s side.

                “If you can make it there I’ll hold you up. This,” he gestured to Ilhoon’s come covered abdomen “is way past a damp washcloth.” Ilhoon looked down to assess his own state and sighed.

                “Fine.” Sehun left Ilhoon to sit and get his bearings while he rummaged through drawers for something to wear. For him, whatever was on top, for Ilhoon… he knew he had something in a small somewhere. By the time he found it Ilhoon was dozing off, sitting completely upright with his feet off the bed and the top sheet wrapped around him like a blanket.

                “Hey.” Ilhoon looked up at him with bleary eyes and Sehun extended his hand. Ilhoon had a minute of confusion before he accepted it and Sehun hauled him up. For the most part sleepy Ilhoon was a good listener, he just did as Sehun told him and they were in done showering and back in bed in no time. When Sehun draped an arm over Ilhoon’s middle Ilhoon shuffled closer until his back was flush against Sehun’s chest and laced their fingers together.

                Sehun wasn’t aware of anything else until he felt a grip on his bicep, then he was moving up. He barely had his feet on the ground before he felt pain across his nose. He stumbled, his ass hitting the floor and his back colliding with the nightstand and motherfucker that handle digging into his back hurt almost as much as the blow to his face.

                “What the fuck!? What the fuck are you doing!?” His brother was angry, very angry, but shouldn’t that be what Sehun was asking? Sehun was finally waking up enough to figure out what was happening, but it wasn’t fast enough apparently. He brother was hauling him up by his shirt to hit him one more time. At least this time Sehun didn’t fall all the way over, but he did knock the lamp off the nightstand with a loud shatter.

                “What the fuck are you doing!?” Ilhoon was on his feet in front of Sehun as if he could defend him and really? _That was supposed to be Sehun’s line_. Ilhoon didn’t look like a threat at all, standing shorter than both of them and wearing nothing but boxers and an old T-shirt, both of which were slightly too big for him, but his brother hesitated all the same.

                “You’re fucking him? HIM!?” His brother was hysterical, trying to yell at Sehun, but Ilhoon was giving him a sharp, terrible look and standing his ground. Sehun laughed. He didn’t mean to, it was a mix of anxiety and confusion and Ilhoon standing there with no fear of getting punched in the face at all. His brother was not happy about it. He was pacing in a rage.

                “I can’t believe you turned into a fucking faggot for the boss’ spoiled rotten _WHORE_.” If his brother was trying to make Ilhoon angry he succeeded. Ilhoon was about the lunge at him before Sehun held him by the middle to stop it. If this were a different situation it could be a cute back hug, but not now. Now Sehun needed to figure out how to stop this situation from escalating any further.

                “What, got tired of old dick and thought you could suck Sehun’s cut of the job out through his?” So escalating all the way to the top it was. Sehun released Ilhoon and punched his brother as hard as he could in the mouth. When his brother fell back, tripping over dirty clothes and landing on his back Sehun dropped to his knees and hit him again, and again. There was a chance he would have kept hitting him if Ilhoon hadn’t grabbed his arm.

                His brother was groaning, but he managed to sit up once Sehun was standing away from him. Ilhoon was checking over Sehun’s nose for damage when Luna burst through the door, worn pink robe askew and hair tangled.

                “What in the hell is going on!? It’s…” She checked the phone in her pocket, confused at the screen from having just woken up. When she finally processed it she was angry all over again. “Five am!”

                “This stupid fuck is trying to start a fight!” Sehun gestured to where his brother was doing his best to stand, slightly drunk and hurting. Luna went to help him.

                “It looks like he did more than try.” She glanced between the three of them awkwardly.

                “You two get dressed, I’m sure Ilhoon should be heading back right? Then we are going to settle…” She waved her hands wildly in exasperation. “All of this.” His brother grumbled in token protest but with Luna’s hand on his back he left them in peace. For a few minutes at least.

                “I’m sorry about him.”

                “It’s fine.” Ilhoon smiled, reaching up to peck Sehun on the lips only to make a disgusted face and wipe at his mouth immediately. “Yuck, you’re bleeding a lot.” Sehun kissed him again for good measure. Ilhoon was trying to be angry, but he was fighting a laugh. He bent down to tug on his jeans and hide his grin while Sehun used a dirty towel to wipe as much of the blood of his face as he could. It wasn’t great, but it was enough for now. Sehun didn’t say anything about Ilhoon still wearing his shirt.

                As Sehun walked Ilhoon to the door they passed his brother and Luna, the two of them standing and talking in heated whispers by the couch. Sehun wanted to kiss Ilhoon goodbye, especially now that most of the blood was gone, so he did. He pulled Ilhoon against him, looping arms around his back and Ilhoon returned the gesture with arms around Sehun’s neck.

                The kiss was more intense than it should be, and longer too. Sehun even worked his tongue into Ilhoon’s mouth and Ilhoon responded with a small moan. At this point it was almost as much about the show as it was about the actual kiss and he could feel his brother’s gaze like a physical weight. When they finally broke apart Ilhoon was smirking up at him.

                “I’ll see you later.”

                “Yeah, we should try out your route before we meet up with Hyuna.” Ilhoon gave him one more quick kiss before he was out the door. His brother was fuming, irritated and pacing, but what the fuck else was new?

                “You’re going to fuck everything up.” Sehun crossed his arms, tired of the bullshit and drinking and anger, but Luna looked worried. She was fidgeting across from him and she shook her head as if trying to convey a silent message.

                “I’m not going to fuck everything up.” His brother started pulling at his own hair and he stalked over to Sehun so he could look him in the eyes.

                “You are… you are all because you wanted to get laid.” Sehun took a step back. His brother’s eyes were wild in a way Sehun had never seen before. His brother stepped forward.

                “It’s not because I wanted to get laid.” Sehun started to explain but his brother wasn’t listening.

                “You’re going to fuck everything up,” Sehun felt the cold metal of a gun barrel against his forehead before he saw his brother move. “And I can’t let that happen.”


	19. Interlude: Seungri

                Some peppy girl with short hair let him in, Seungri hadn’t seen her before, but the domestic turnover had been high lately so that wasn’t exactly a surprise. He made a beeline for Sehun who was playing on his phone, lounging on the couch. Seungri was more interested in attractive boys anyway.

                “I heard you got a fancy new job.” Sehun snorted and didn’t even bother to look up.

                “Word travels fast huh? I haven’t even met my coworkers yet.” Seungri kicked Sehun over so he could stretch out on the couch. Sehun moved over without complaint. The younger of the two brothers always did know better. If Seungri had a say in it, and he definitely intended to, Sehun would be the one in charge. He was charismatic enough, but he was also just enough of a pushover that Seungri would be able to sway him a little. Unfortunately if Sehun fit in too well with the boss’ higher-ups he would never take the job.

                “Working with Hyuna and Ilhoon is quite the step up.” Sehun shrugged and finally put his phone away.

                “I don’t know anything about them. Hyung says Ilhoon is a dickhead.” It was Seungri’s turn to snort. Like that asshole had the right to call anyone a dickhead.

                “Is your brother around?”

                “Looking for me?” Speak of the devil and he shall appear, eh? Sehun was smarter than people gave him credit for because he glanced between the two men, made some excuse about meeting friends for drinks, and left. His brother took his place on the couch. At least he had the decency to hesitate. Seungri hated that. The man may be a jackass but he was more cautious than his younger brother, it was like he could see Seungri’s motives as if they were laid bare in front of him. No point in dancing the dance with this motherfucker.

                “Sehun is old enough to take over.”

                “So?” Seungri leaned in to the other man, keeping his smile wide and fake. If his smile had a spirit animal that animal would be a snake.

                “So, let him take over.”

                “And why would I do that?”

                “Because you’re a drunk and a gambler who can’t take care of your girls.” Seungri felt the air in the room seize as the tension and anger set is. This fearless leader always was prone to anger, so many drunks were. “Yixing and I have both heard about the dissension in your ranks.”

                “There’s no dissension in my ranks. Maybe you should worry about your own fucking whores.” The words were full of venom and defensiveness. Seungri knew the domestic girls weren’t as happy as they had been. The boss _had_ been demanding a bigger share, but that didn’t mean someone should take it out on the people under them. At the very least Seungri was a big believer in not letting the underlings know you’re taking it out on them.

                “I’d be happy to take care of your girls for you.” Seungri knew he couldn’t push too far, he was slimmer, physically weaker, in comparison and he wasn’t looking to get hit today. What would his boys say if he came home with a black eye? “Or you could let Sehun take care of them. He’s much, much better than you.”

                “Is that a threat?” Applause for keeping it together.

                “Of course it is. You can’t do the job, put someone in charge who can.” Seungri knew the next part would rattle him. Good. “With things going the way they are you won’t just be out of power, you’ll be dead.” Silence followed.

                Truthfully, Seungri didn’t want to run the domestics directly if he could help it. Yixing was a lot nicer than Seungri was and he wouldn’t sit by like a good boy and let Seungri snatch more power. They had a very solid balance right now, at least as far as appearances go. Keeping that power was ideal, but sometimes you had to get your manicured, pretty little hands dirty yourself to survive in this world. The door slammed shut so hard the hinges shook.

                “Seungri. It’s good to see you.” Ah Luna, the second beautiful but irritating thorn in Seungri’s side. Even if Seungri could get Sehun into power Luna would be there next to him, whispering in his ear. He couldn’t have that.

                “You look more beautiful than ever. Strange considering how our friend here is running things.” Luna narrowed her eyes at him. She had the face of someone who knew exactly what Seungri was up to. She crossed her arms defensively across her chest and refused to move closer. Perfect. That meant she was scared Seungri would strike at her, sway her, put her under a spell. Seungri let a smirk take over his smile, the garter snake to a cobra.

                “What do you want?” He stood to move closer. Luna stood her ground but her eyes wavered.

                “I want the same thing you do. I want Sehun in power.” A flash of confusion across her lovely features. “You don’t think our favorite resident asshole is doing a good job, do you?” Doubt. Seungri had her right where he wanted her. But then she steeled herself. Fuck.

                _“I think_ you should leave.” So she wasn’t as easily manipulated as Seungri would have liked, it didn’t matter. The seeds were planted. If he waited long enough things would fall apart.

                “Seriously think about it. You both know Sehun would do a good job.” He saw himself out, waving at them from the open door. “It was lovely seeing you both!” It wasn’t. And that raw, rough, pressure between everyone in that room was like a ticking time bomb. What would be lovely to see was the explosion it would create.


	20. All Bite

                Sehun had never had a gun to his head before. He hadn’t really been threatened with a gun at all. Some guy once threatened to get a gun, but he didn’t follow through. Sure, Sehun had been threatened with knives, he’d even been stabbed twice, but there was something about the pure, raw intensity of a gun to his head that had his adrenaline spiking higher than ever. Despite the fact that inside he was filled with panic he made damn sure his face was level.

                “If you shoot me the job will be even more fucked up.” His brother’s eyes were like ice against Sehun’s while he thought. He must have figured out Sehun had a good point but that also didn’t mean he couldn’t hurt him. Sehun felt an explosion of pain across the side of his head. He stumbled but managed to stay upright. He wasn’t so lucky with the second blow. He toppled to his knees when the gun gouged into his forehead. Half his vision was a blurry bright red, and even through the throbbing ache that went all the way to his rattled teeth he could feel the blood seeping down his face.

                “I may not be able to shoot you.” His brother yanked Luna to him, pressing the barrel hard into her temple instead. “But I can shoot her.” Sehun felt like the air was heavy, he could barely get in a breath. It was like breathing in smoke, bitter taste and all. His thoughts were fading in and out but he was doing his absolute best to hold it together. Head wounds bleed more right? It didn’t mean it was any worse than any other wound. Blood dripped onto his shirt and he really tried to believe that.

                “What do you want?” His brother didn’t seem to know entirely himself. He was wobbling a little, propped up on Luna’s sturdiness. The silence spanned what felt like eons.

                “Lose the fucktoy.” Sehun felt his eye twitch. “And… I want the money from the job to go after Yixing and Seungri.”

                “That’s not going to happen, none of it.” Luna was a lot more courageous in the face of a gun than Sehun was, or maybe she was just as good at putting up a front. Sehun’s brother shook her by the robe and pushed her to her knees, gun to the back of her head execution style.

                “Shut the fuck up! This is between me and Sehun.” Sehun could tell she wanted to say something but she was holding it back. If Sehun had to guess it would be something along the lines of bringing Luna into it when he put a fucking gun to her head.

                “What do you think is going to happen here? I’m going to agree and then we’ll pretend this never happened?” His brother rubbed at his face in exasperation.

                “Why don’t you just listen to me? I know what’s best.”

                “No you don’t.” The words were out and Sehun had a moment where he wished he could put them back in. On the bright side his brother didn’t shoot Luna. He shoved her face first into the floor so he could leap onto Sehun and fucking strangle him. Sehun was tugging at his brother’s wrists, fighting against the weight of his brother sitting on his stomach, but it was useless. Being pistol whipped was still fucking him up and the lack of oxygen wasn’t helping. He gasped, desperate to get air in, and how in the fuck was killing him this way better than shooting him?

                Then his brother released Sehun’s neck and his breath flooded back in. Luna had smashed his brother in the head with an empty Soju bottle, one of many his brother left lying around. His brother snatched her ankle and drug her back to the floor. The air left her lungs with a harsh exhale when she collided with the ground. Sehun tried his damn best to get up, but in the time it took his brother had grabbed Luna’s hair and used his hold to crack her head back against the hardwood, once, twice, a third time before she managed to kick him off and land a heavy punch to his jaw.

                The gun. Where the fuck was the gun? Sehun was scanning the room in a frenzy. His brother had to have thrown that fucking gun somewhere. Luna hit his brother one more time before he hit her back and her nose made a horrible crunching sound. The blood in Sehun’s eye was almost blinding, fucking up his depth perception. But there it was, halfway under the couch. His brother was on top of Luna, using his weight to hold her in place while he hit her a second time. He was clearly not expecting her to lurch forward and bite into his arm, deep enough to draw blood.

                His brother wailed in pain and shuffled back, clutching his arm where Luna had taken her pound of flesh. Too bad for him it was right into Sehun who had managed to stand and was holding the gun. The activity of the room went still and silent. The only sounds were the heavy, labored breathing of the three inhabitants.

                “Are you going to shoot your brother?” Sehun barked out a wheezing laugh.

                “You were going to! You were going to strangle me!” His voice was coarse from the pressure against his throat and he was almost hysterical. Sehun felt like he was running on pure stress at this point. He could feel himself shaking. Was he still bleeding? His brother shifted a little, getting ready to stand.

                “Don’t even fucking think about it. I’ll fucking shoot you I swear to God.” His brother had the nerve to scoff and try to stand anyway. So Sehun fired. His brother crumpled back onto the floor in a motherfucking hurry.

                “WHAT THE FUCK!?” His brother was screeching, high pitched like nails on a chalkboard, and clutching his thigh “You fucking shot me!”

                “Of course I fucking did! I said I was going to!” Sehun may have been screeching a little himself but if he ever had to tell the story he would say he was cool as a cucumber in the middle of a snowstorm. It was a fucking lie though. At least Luna managed to remain calm and she could sense Sehun’s impending mental breakdown. She stood next to him and took the gun as gently as she could. Sehun felt like she took a thousand pounds.

                “You can’t lead anymore. You’re done.” She was cold and serious, intimidating enough that his brother didn’t say anything back. Her nose was slightly crooked and pouring blood, her lip was split, and her hair was a mess where his brother had fucked it up. Still she was holding it together like a fucking champion. Sehun was suddenly overcome with something that should have been obvious to him from the beginning.

                “Luna will be in charge.” She looked at him like Sehun had just said she’d be running an entire country or some shit. But she was the best choice, she was the best with the girls, she was great under pressure, and she had even killed someone so she wouldn’t be afraid of taking care of the nasty shit.

                “Like hell she will!” Sehun kicked his brother in his shot leg, not hard, but when you’ve just been shot it doesn’t need to be hard. His brother whined in pain, bravado gone.

                “She will if she wants to.” Luna was searching Sehun’s face for something, doubt, a joke, some kind of sign that he wasn’t being serious.

                “I want Luna to be in charge.” Oh shit. Gabby Gossipface was standing in the hall with the other girls who lived with them. Sehun had forgotten it was five in the damn morning and everyone was home. Also he really needed to remember the girls’ names. This was another reason Luna was better for the job.

                “I… I do too.” Another girl spoke up, not quite as bold as Gabby Gossipface but bold enough. The other girls nodded their agreement.

                “So it’s settled. It’s settled right?” Sehun was staring his brother down. Well, as much as someone can when they can only really see out of one eye. His brother was pale, dark circles forming under his eyes and fuck maybe he was losing a lot of blood.

                “It’s settled.” Luna crouched to look his brother dead in the eyes. “and if you have a problem with that I will kill you. Wherever you’ve been going? Think about going there permanently.” Sehun felt her words through his whole body. She for sure would be a good leader with that tone of voice at her disposal. Luna would have to tell the street girls, the girls who did house calls, she’d have to talk to Seungri and Yixing, and Sehun would support her however he could, but right now they needed medical attention.

                The sketchy doctor who did criminal house calls patched them up, stitched up Sehun’s eye and set Luna’s nose, but he took Sehun’s brother with him. Apparently a gunshot to the thigh needed more than a Band-Aid, but the doctor assured everyone he would be fine and the cops wouldn’t be called. Sehun slept through the whole day, waking up only for the bathroom and a couple small meals. It wasn’t until the next day that he felt up to getting out of bed. That was partially due to the fact he woke up to Ilhoon staring down at him.

                “Hey, you look like shit.” Sehun laughed and drug Ilhoon into bed with him. Ilhoon didn’t fight it, he just let Sehun manhandle him. Sehun shifted them around until he could get Ilhoon under the covers and against his chest.

                “Let’s sleep for one more hour.” Ilhoon smiled into Sehun’s chest where his face was stuck and adjusted him arms around Sehun to return the hold.

                “It’s already after noon. We should test out that route because we have to meet Hyuna tomorrow.” Sehun hummed his acknowledgement but didn’t bother to move. He must have drifted off because when he opened his eyes next he was on his back, Ilhoon curled into his side with an arm over Sehun’s abdomen, asleep.

                “Hey, wake up.” Ilhoon turned his head and buried his face in Sehun’s armpit. He pulled back immediately to give Sehun a dirty look like it was his fault somehow. Sehun kissed his scowl and Ilhoon softened.

                “Ow…. My face hurts.” Sehun was whining but fuck it, he was sore. Ilhoon pushed himself out of the bed, stretching to reveal a teasing strip of abdomen.

                “Come on, let’s try out your route.”

                Sehun was finally starting to feel truly relaxed while they were driving. It was nice to focus on the job and put everything else out of his mind for a while. He couldn’t ignore his brother forever, he didn’t want to. They were still brothers after all, but right now it was like poking at a fresh wound. Of which he currently had many.

                But this, just driving the route to monitor traffic, double check cameras, with Ilhoon focused and smiling next to him, was what he needed. Ilhoon was biting his pen while he looked over Sehun’s notes, and Sehun couldn’t tell if it was more frustrating now that he knew what that mouth felt like. Even so it was the best kind of frustrating.

                They ended up in the parking garage Sehun had marked as a possible place to lie low, parked out of the view of the cameras so they could get a proper look around. For a busy area the lower levels of the garage were more or less empty, considering the graffiti, broken bottles, and smashed up cameras Sehun could take a guess as to why. He and Ilhoon were sitting on the trunk of Sehun’s mustang in comfortable silence when Ilhoon spoke up.

                “Are you okay?” Sehun touched the stitches above his eye gingerly.

                “Yeah, it doesn’t hurt that much.”

                “No I mean… because of what happened with your brother.” Oh, Ilhoon meant emotionally okay. Sehun shifted awkwardly. He was terrible at talking about serious emotions.

                “Yeah, it’s better that Luna is in charge.” Ilhoon closed the inch of space between them so he could rest his head on Sehun’s shoulder.

                “I heard you shot him.” Sehun laced their fingers and pulled Ilhoon’s hand into his lap, running his thumb across Ilhoon’s as if it was a nervous tick.

                “Just in the thigh, and I did warn him first.”

                “I’m sure he didn’t give you a choice.” Sehun squeezed harder on Ilhoon’s hand and hesitated.

                “No… I…” He felt the words stick in his throat as if his body was willing him to shut the fuck up. “I was so scared. I thought he was really going to kill me or Luna.” Sehun was scratching at the faint bruises on his neck, they were a physical reminder of the horrifying lack of breath and the angry, unrecognizable face of his brother.

                “You definitely look awful enough to be on death’s door.” Sehun laughed and shoved Ilhoon off his shoulder in mock anger.

                “Not so awful you wouldn’t let me fuck you.” Ilhoon jumped off the trunk to look Sehun up and down, scrutinizing his appearance.

                “No, I guess you’re right.” He jerked Sehun off the trunk and stepped into his space, pressing their bodies together. Sehun’s hands were on Ilhoon’s hips without a second thought. “Maybe we should go in the back seat and I’ll show you just how attractive you still are?” Sehun could one hundred percent get on board with that. He slid his arms around Ilhoon’s back under his shirt and kissed him. Just as he slipped his tongue into Ilhoon’s mouth the smaller man’s phone rang. Ilhoon groaned in annoyance but answered it anyway.

                “Hello?” He put some space between them. “None of your business.” Sehun could hear yelling on the other end and it was probably safe to assume this was Ilhoon’s daily watchdog. Sehun couldn’t make out the words but Ilhoon suddenly paled. “I’ll be there soon.” He hung up and looked at Sehun with a worried expression. Just as he opened his mouth to say something Sehun’s phone rang. It was Hyuna.

                “Hey, what’s up?”

                “The boss wants to see us now. You should get over here as soon as you can and we’ll go together.” Her tone was clipped and anxious.

                “Yeah, I’ll be there.” She hung up on him without a goodbye.

                “Hyunseung told the boss about us.” Sehun felt his whole body tense. Fuck. “I’ll take care of it.” Ilhoon sounded confident enough, even if there was fear woven into his voice. Sehun had no choice but to accept it. He and Ilhoon said nothing else to each other the whole way back to Sehun’s apartment. Instead of goodbye Ilhoon kissed him quickly and he was gone.

                Sehun, Hyuna, and E’dawn also said nothing to each other, just the bare minimum of greetings. To Sehun it felt like the whole world was cracking ice on a murky pond and even the slightest misstep, the tiniest noise, would cause it to shatter and drag them into the frozen depths to drown. Except their death would be less cold and more… beat to death maybe? Sehun didn’t want to think about it.

                When they showed up at the boss’ high-rise some goon in a pressed suit led them to an office where the boss was waiting with Hyunseung and a dozen other goons. If Sehun had to pick them out of a line-up he couldn’t. They looked comically like the same person copied and pasted over and over. It might have been the matching suits. Sehun had never seen so many in the same room so he hadn’t noticed it. The boss sure did have a thing for suits.

                Speaking of, Ilhoon showed up last and he had changed into a tailored suit jacket and white button-up shirt. So the boss _definitely_ had a thing for suits. The second Ilhoon was in the room the boss stood from his desk, moving around to face his guests properly, except Ilhoon who stood close to his side and Hyunseung who was standing across from them, smug as all hell. Sehun thought maybe they shouldn’t stand in a line like they were sentenced to death by firing squad, but he had to admit that Doojoon and Hyuna on either of his sides felt like pillars of strength.

                “So I hear that you and your getaway driver have been fucking behind my back?” Straight to the point. Ilhoon did an amazing job of rolling his eyes at just how purely ridiculous the not at all ridiculous idea was.

                “Yuck. Where in the fuck did you get that idea?” Ilhoon was a great liar and Sehun almost let himself be offended. Yuck? Really?

                “Hyunseung says he saw you two at your apartment.” Ilhoon scrunched his brows confused.

                “Sehun never stayed at my apartment. I don’t think he ever even met Hyunseung.” The boss seemed to be thinking it over and Sehun was happy he managed to slip in the untrue fact that he did not know Hyunseung at the card game.

                “Doojoon.” Doojoon stood straighter.

                “Yes sir?”

                “You were there, did Sehun stay the night?”

                “No sir. Sehun came up to drop Ilhoon off and they fought about something before he left.” Well Sehun certainly didn’t remember fighting so he hoped to fuck no one asked him what their fake fight was about.

                “Isn’t Hyunseung your friend? You’ll call him a liar just like that?” Doojoon didn’t hesitate.

                “He is sir, but I’m loyal to you and telling you the truth comes first.” Damn, the boss looked like he was eating that shit up. If Sehun wasn’t afraid for his life this would be a lot like watching some kind of play. The boss shoved a manila folder into Ilhoon’s hands.

                “Then what’s this?” Ilhoon was leafing through pictures, Sehun could guess they were probably pictures of them making out at the bank. Ilhoon was managing to look more and more angry with each one.

                “Where the fuck did you get these?” The boss didn’t answer, but he did gesture over to Hyunseung who was starting to look a lot less smug. Good, fuck that guy.

                “This is what we were fucking fighting about!” Ilhoon was starting to raise his voice, not quite yelling, but loud enough that his anger was believable. “Did you get these from the security camera?” Hyunseung said nothing but it was obvious Ilhoon’s rage was making him unsettled. There was a sudden snap in Ilhoon’s expression, his eyes were wide and he looked angrier than ever.

                “You! You mother fucker!” He was in Hyunseung’s face but the boss drug him away.

                “What are you doing?” The tone suggested that the boss thought Ilhoon was crazy, but Ilhoon didn’t let up, glaring through everything into Hyunseung.

                “He has been ratting us out to the bank!” Ilhoon switched his focus so he could stare directly at the boss with piercing eyes. “Someone was feeding the bank information about us, that’s why the heist is taking so long and why we were in that stupid fucking position in the first place.” It didn’t surprise the boss apparently because he turned his cold countenance on Hyunseung.

                “You’ve been trying to fuck up my heist?” Hyunseung had his hands up to defend himself.

                “No! No way! They’re the liars!” Hyunseung wasn’t as good under pressure as Ilhoon, and he damn sure wasn’t as good of a liar.

                “You think _all of them_ are lying? You’re the only truthful one?” Hyunseung was looking around the room like a magic exit door would open up and let him out of this grave he dug for himself.

                “You tried to get my best thieves killed, and even worse you tried to fuck up my payday. For what?” Hyunseung resorted to begging, stepping towards the boss.

                “I was the best choice for that heist! Not this fuck!” He pointed at E’dawn and Sehun figured he deserved some damn applause too because E’dawn didn’t even flinch.

                “You were jealous? Really?” The boss had had enough. He waved a hand dismissively and motioned to his lackeys. They knew what to do and they had a hold on Hyunseung before anything else was said.

“Take him to Oido, let him see the ocean.” The look on Hyunseung’s face was pure terror. He fought with everything he had against the two thugs gripping his arms.

                “No, I don’t want to die! No!” The door slammed on his pleas and the boss tossed the pictures of Sehun and Ilhoon onto the desk with a sigh. He wrapped his arms around Ilhoon as if he was looking for comfort, but when he leaned in to kiss him Ilhoon turned his head. The slap that followed was so loud it was like a clap of thunder through the room, so forceful Ilhoon stumbled and toppled to his knees. The boss jerked Ilhoon back to his feet by his hair.

                “Don’t be like this baby, you don’t want _me_ to get jealous right?” The boss undid Ilhoon’s top button, not bothered by Ilhoon’s vicious glare. Sehun couldn’t tell if the tears in Ilhoon’s eyes were from the pain or simply from the pure hatred. “Who knows what I might do then.” The boss didn’t say it outright, but Sehun felt that threat to his life all the way down to his fucking soul.

                The boss undid Ilhoon’s second button and no one moved a muscle, then he did the third, and fourth, before pulling back to put a small space between himself and Ilhoon.

                “Do the rest.” The boss’ tone left no room for argument, and while Doojoon might be on Ilhoon’s side, it was very clear the other thugs were ready to do the boss’ bidding at a moment’s notice. So Ilhoon undid each button on his shirt until his chest was exposed. The boss appraised him, running eyes over Ilhoon’s form, and even Sehun felt dirty. Then the boss followed their path with his hands, starting at Ilhoon’s neck, trailing down his chest, around his belly to finally grip his hips in a brutally tight hold.

                “No hickies…” Sehun mentally cheered to himself that the stupid mark he’d left on Ilhoon’s hipbone was gone. “But you still need to prove to me you aren’t screwing around.” The boss wrenched Ilhoon against him, arms tight around Ilhoon’s back, and tried to suck his soul out through his mouth, or kiss him, whatever. Ilhoon’s eyes were scrunched shut, but he was kissing back, arms around the boss’ neck.

                It was torture for everyone, if Hyuna vibrating next to him was any indication. She was giving off such infuriated energy Sehun was surprised the room didn’t explode. He himself was doing his absolute best to squash down any feelings he was having. If he let any of them churn to the surface he wouldn’t be able to stay still. Ilhoon moaned and Sehun had to swallow his heart. It was a fake moan, Sehun had heard enough to know it wasn’t real, but it was killing him.

                When the boss grabbed Ilhoon’s ass and ground against him Ilhoon whimpered. It wasn’t in a good way, it was in pure misery. The boss didn’t seem to pick up on it and did it again. He apparently had no qualms with getting off on Ilhoon in front of everyone. Sehun felt Hyuna’s nails in his arm, he hadn’t even realized he was stepping forward until Hyuna stopped him. Finally the boss broke what could be called a kiss.

                “You can stay the night with me here, the rest of you can go home.” Hyuna stepped forward, probably to save both Sehun and Ilhoon.

                “Sir, I think it’s best if Ilhoon goes home as well. The heist is less than two weeks away and we need him at his best.” The boss thought it over, taking in Ilhoon’s disheveled appearance and dying eyes, and agreed.

                “Fine, Doojoon can take him home.” When Ilhoon stepped toward Doojoon and reached to button his shirt the boss snatched his wrist and squeezed until Ilhoon whined in pain. “But I’m not staying on first base with you anymore baby, do you understand me? When this heist is over I’m going to fuck you until I’ve had enough, and then I’m going to fuck you again.” Ilhoon didn’t say anything back, instead he finished doing up his shirt and followed Doojoon out the door, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.

                “And you.” Sehun hadn’t moved yet, he was pretty much planning to do follow Hyuna and E’dawn, but the boss waved them out. E’dawn shot him a pitying look and it was strangely comforting. The boss was in his face the second Sehun looked back.

                “If I find out you’re trying to fuck around with him, I’ll kill you.” Sehun would have been a lot more intimidated if the boss didn’t have a raging erection everyone else was completely ignoring, but Sehun’s panicked, overwhelmed, internal self was making a thousand jokes. He was sure that once the adrenaline wore off everything would come crashing down.

                “I understand.” The boss seemed pleased enough with his answer, and he let Sehun leave. Too bad Doojoon was standing on the street outside the door to the building so he could grab Sehun’s arm and threaten him too.

                “Listen here.” His eyes were angry, he was scowling and shoving a finger in Sehun’s chest. “The boss or one of his goons is definitely watching so I’m pretending to be mad.” Sehun managed, despite all odds, to keep a smile off his face.

                “What is it? Where’s Ilhoon?” Doojoon shoved him into the wall. It probably looked like it hurt but it wasn’t hard enough for that.

                “He’s in the car, he doesn’t know I’m talking to you. It’s just… you should come over and check on him, okay?” Part of Sehun wanted to mention it probably wasn’t safe when the boss literally just threatened his life, but the bigger part would do anything to make sure Ilhoon was okay.

                “Okay.” Doojoon shoved him one more time and smiled very slightly before leaving Sehun to his thoughts. He was thinking this was a real shit show.


	21. Lips Like Summertime

               When Sehun got to Ilhoon’s apartment Doojoon hurried him inside, calling Ilhoon into the living room. Ilhoon looked very surprised to see him. His eyebrows were knit together and he was looking Sehun up and down like he was a ghost. Maybe Sehun shouldn’t have come, he really didn’t want to get either of them killed.

               “What are you doing here?”

               “Uhm, I’m going to leave for the night. I’ll be back in the morning okay? Don’t do anything that will get us into trouble.” Ilhoon nodded slowly at Doojoon, still trying to understand what was going on. Sehun didn’t say anything until the door was latched shut. He was hoping when they were alone some of the awkward atmosphere would dissipate. It didn’t.

               “I’m here to make sure you’re okay. Doojoon said I should come.” Ilhoon rolled his eyes and sighed, running hands through his hair like he was trying to fix it.

               “You shouldn’t feel obligated to check on me.” Sehun shifted on his feet. He was very aware of the distance between them but he didn’t know how close he should get so soon after… after what happened.

               “I didn’t feel obligated. Why would I feel obligated?” Ilhoon crossed his arms and shrunk in on himself. It was a small gesture, but Sehun was so tuned in to everything Ilhoon did he noticed it like a flashing neon sign.

               “I mean, because of whatever it was we had.”

               “Wait, had?” Ilhoon was using the past tense? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Sehun was a boiling pot of angry and sad and confused.

               “Well yeah, I figured after all that with the boss you wouldn’t want to mess around anymore. Why would you?” Ilhoon was being way too nonchalant about Sehun’s feelings right now. Sehun wasn’t just messing around to mess around. In two strides he was close enough to pull Ilhoon into a tight embrace, too tight maybe. Sehun felt like he might squeeze the air out of his lungs, but he needed Ilhoon to know how he felt.

               “How do you not know how in love with you I am?” Ilhoon wasn’t hugging back. His arms were still crossed over his chest to form a barrier between them.

               “What? It’s not like you ever said you had feelings for me too.” Sehun came to a terrible, awful, horrible realization in that moment. He was a fucking idiot. When Ilhoon had confessed his feelings so seriously to Sehun and Sehun made a joke back Ilhoon had come to the conclusion Sehun didn’t share those feelings. And why wouldn’t he? Sehun had turned Ilhoon’s feelings into a _joke_. And the worst part was that Ilhoon still let Sehun fuck around with him, thinking that Sehun was only in it for the sex.

               Sehun had to fix this right now. He moved back enough to get his hands on Ilhoon’s face so he could look him dead in his pretty, confused eyes. There were not going to be any misunderstandings this time.

               “I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you this whole fucking time.” Maybe it was overkill, whatever, Ilhoon was softening under his gaze so it was worth it.

               “Yeah?” Ilhoon rested trembling hands on Sehun’s chest.

               “Yeah.” Ilhoon was kissing him. It was tender and earnest, if Sehun was into poetry he might call it profound. He might talk about electricity, about butterflies and lips like summertime. He might even talk about two halves coming together. Ilhoon’s arms found their way around his neck as the kiss deepened and Sehun pulled Ilhoon as close as he possibly could. Ilhoon was the first to pull away, breath ragged from the intensity.

               “I have to take a shower. Want to join me?”

               “Definitely.” Sehun kicked off his shoes and followed Ilhoon into a small bathroom, the one Sehun had been in before. It was clean and mostly bare, just like Ilhoon’s bedroom, but it had the necessities. Ilhoon started the water to let it heat up and went to undo his buttons but Sehun grabbed his hand.

               “Can I?” Ilhoon was looking at him, vulnerable and at war with himself about it, but Sehun could be patient. Steam was forming in the shower before Ilhoon answered.

               “Yeah.” It was breathy and almost a whisper, but Ilhoon dropped his hands to let Sehun take over. Sehun decided fuck these buttons and pulled the shirt over Ilhoon’s head without undoing them at all. It was rougher than Sehun intended, the tailored shirt caught on Ilhoon’s shoulders and it required a solid yank to come off, but Ilhoon was laughing at Sehun all the same.

               “I thought you were trying to be sexy, not dislocate my shoulder.” Sehun pulled his own t-shirt off with much more ease.

               “It was a lot sexier in my head.” Ilhoon hummed in response and ran his eyes up Sehun’s bare chest, trailing shaky fingertips across Sehun’s stomach near his waistband.

               “This is sexy enough.” Sehun kissed Ilhoon under the ear, then on his neck, as he pushed Ilhoon’s pants past his ass. They dropped to the floor and Ilhoon kicked out of them, bracing himself on Sehun so he didn’t trip. Considering their luck it was probably a good thing.

               Ilhoon was standing there completely naked, grinning up at Sehun, and it did something to Sehun’s heart. Something that his dick agreed with. He was already half hard as he undid his own jeans and pushed them off. Ilhoon was on him the second he was naked, kissing him senseless and pressing their bodies together. Sehun tried his best the step Ilhoon backwards into the warm spray of water but he stumbled over their stupid pile of clothes. He slammed Ilhoon backwards into the cold ceramic tile with his whole weight.

               “God damn it!” Ilhoon hissed at him like an angry, wet cat. Sehun didn’t even bother to step back. He had his forehead resting on the wall by Ilhoon’s head, careful of the cut above his eyebrow. It was an attempt to stifle his laughter but it was futile. He was laughing right into Ilhoon’s ear. He didn’t appreciate it and pinched Sehun in the side. Sehun laughed harder, but at least he jumped back enough that Ilhoon finally freed himself from where Sehun had him pinned and reached for the shampoo.

               “Wait, here.” Sehun grabbed it first and poured too much into his hand. Oh well, fuck it. He slapped the glob of shampoo into Ilhoon’s hair and scrubbed. Ilhoon closed his eyes to avoid getting any in them, but as Sehun worked his fingers against Ilhoon’s scalp Ilhoon swayed forward until he was resting on Sehun.

               “That feels good.” Ilhoon was mumbling, content and relaxed. Once Sehun was happy with the lather he tipped Ilhoon’s head back into the water and rinsed until there were no more bubbles. Ilhoon was pliant in his arms, letting Sehun take care of him. He got the feeling Ilhoon wasn’t one to show vulnerability, especially considering the circumstances he lived in, and it made Sehun feel warm all over.

               After he pulled Ilhoon’s head back into his chest Sehun set to work on Ilhoon’s body. There was a pink loofah with a Hello Kitty charm on the end and matching body wash that smelled like strawberries. Sehun hoped Ilhoon never wanted to protest being cute ever again because seriously Sehun would have to call bullshit.

               “This is seriously what you use?”

               “Hm?” Ilhoon turned his head so he could see what Sehun was talking about, as if he didn’t already know. “Yeah, what’s wrong with it?”

               “Nothing, it suits you.” Sehun drizzled the body wash onto the loofah. He felt a sharp pain where Ilhoon had turned to rest his bony chin and peer upwards from under wet lashes. “It’s cute.” Ilhoon gave him the best adorable smile ever and kissed the underside of Sehun’s jaw. Sehun was not going to be distracted from his task though. He started at Ilhoon’s neck, gliding the soapy loofah over Ilhoon’s shoulders and down his arms. When he got to Ilhoon’s hands he lifted one arm up and ran the loofah down the other side, right into Ilhoon’s armpit.

               Ilhoon jerked his arm involuntarily but Sehun held it in place while he washed down Ilhoon’s side. Ilhoon was laughing, trying to hide his giggles behind his free hand. But they were alone, and there was no need to be quiet now. Sehun thought back to his apartment and Ilhoon crying out from underneath him and fine, they never really tried to be quiet in the first place. Sehun moved to the other side, pulling Ilhoon’s hand away from his face. When Sehun got to the armpit on the other side Ilhoon started laughing harder.

               His face was scrunched up, eyes almost closed. After the night Ilhoon had Sehun was happy to make him laugh, even if it was because he was ticklish. Fuck, Sehun was so in love right now. Ilhoon squeaked when Sehun pulled him in for a kiss melted in Sehun’s hold. As Sehun slipped his tongue into Ilhoon’s mouth he slid the loofah down Ilhoon’s back to his ass. Ilhoon moaned and Sehun pulled back suddenly.

               “Hey, we don’t have to have sex.” After whatever happened with the boss, after Ilhoon thinking Sehun wasn’t totally, fully, one hundred percent into him, Sehun wanted to make sure Ilhoon knew he was here no matter what. Ilhoon must have gotten the message because he was looking at Sehun with so much affection in his eyes it almost took his breath away.

               “But I really want to.” Ilhoon whispered it across his lips before dragging Sehun down to kiss him again. Sehun could feel how hard Ilhoon was and he used his hold on Ilhoon’s ass to grind against him. He felt Ilhoon whimper into his mouth and he groaned in response. If he wasn’t careful he was going to come just like this, with their naked, wet bodies slotted tight together, and seriously he needed to think of something else. Like baseball or the Arctic. He pressed his finger to Ilhoon’s entrance but apparently it was Ilhoon’s turn to pull away.

               “Wait, uh…” Ilhoon was looking around for something, something he didn’t find because he was darting out of the shower and out of the bathroom before Sehun could figure out what was going on. It only took him half a minute to return, covered in goosebumps, and press a small bottle of lube into Sehun’s palm.

               “You aren’t going to fit that dick inside me with no lube.” Sehun loved how blatant Ilhoon was when he was horny. It was all straight to the point, no shame in telling Sehun exactly what he wanted. He also loved embarrassed Ilhoon though, the one who hesitated to sit next to him and elbowed him over a sexual remark. Damn he had it so bad.

               Sehun used one arm to hold Ilhoon around the back while he fingered Ilhoon open with the other. He slipped in one finger easily and Ilhoon was already panting into Sehun’s skin. He was holding on to Sehun’s back for support, thank God really because when Sehun pushed in the second finger Ilhoon wobbled.

               “Just fuck me already.” Sehun pushed in deeper and Ilhoon whined.

               “Aren’t you the one worried about my dick fitting?” Sehun set a slow rhythm with his fingers and Ilhoon was whimpering at the sensation.

               “I – Ah,” Ilhoon was cut off when Sehun added the third finger. “Oh God, fuck.” Sehun hid his smug grin in Ilhoon’s wet hair. The smell of strawberries was always going to turn him on now. Ilhoon slung his arms around Sehun’s neck for more support. Or at least that’s what Sehun thought, he wasn’t expecting Ilhoon to leap up on him like a damn Koala and wrap his legs around Sehun’s waist.

               Sehun shoved him against the tile one more time, not on purpose, but the new weight in the slippery shower required some kind of support. Ilhoon wasn’t mad though, he was looking down at Sehun with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

               “Fuck me, or I’m kicking you out of this damn shower.” Sehun adjusted his grip to Ilhoon’s hips and used it to pull Ilhoon down while he thrust up. Sehun didn’t go all the way in, despite Ilhoon’s insistence Sehun wasn’t looking to hurt him, but still Ilhoon smacked his head against the wall and cried in pleasure. Sehun thrust up as gently as he could manage, barely pulling out, in an attempt to give Ilhoon time to adjust to his size.

               Ilhoon dropped his head forward and sealed his mouth against Sehun’s. It was sloppy and breathy and Sehun was very much into it. He kept up the shallow pace until he felt Ilhoon rolling his hips, then he thrust into Ilhoon’s body as deep as he could go. Ilhoon had his fingers in Sehun’s hair and he was tugging. Sehun couldn’t tell if he or Ilhoon were groaning louder. Everything felt so good, the weight of Ilhoon against him, the sensation in his scalp, or the feeling of tight heat around him.

               He pulled out as much as he could, and fuck it Ilhoon was super light so when he thrust forward again he drug Ilhoon’s hips down. He kept up the rough pace, not relenting even as Ilhoon turned into a mess. Ilhoon was holding his face now, trying to kiss him in between moans and sobs, and Sehun was doing his best to kiss back. The small shower space was echoing the sound of skin meeting skin and their euphoric moans and Sehun had a fleeting thought that maybe this was better than the sound of an engine.

               “Ilhoonie, I love you.” Ilhoon opened his eyes so he could look at Sehun’s face but Sehun didn’t slow down, fucking into Ilhoon’s tight body as hard as he could.

               “Say it again.” Ilhoon whispered out his words through his labored breathing.

               “I love you.” Ilhoon tightened around him and came across their stomachs. It only took a few more thrusts and Sehun was coming inside Ilhoon with a throaty groan. They stayed like that for only a minute, Ilhoon’s breathing was almost a whine in Sehun’s ear and he couldn’t imagine his was much better, but he had just come and his arms and legs were feeling too weak to hold Ilhoon up.

               He did his best to lower Ilhoon down slowly so he could find his footing. Ilhoon made a small sound of protest but didn’t fight it. Instead he reached up to kiss Sehun one more time and smiled a tired, blissed-out smile at him before rinsing off any remaining soap and come lingering on his body.

               “You still need to wash right? I’ll go find you some other clothes.” Ilhoon didn’t give him time to respond. He hurried out of the shower, shivering the second cold air hit his damp skin. Sehun let himself think of all the sappy things he wanted to do while he washed his hair, things like snuggle under the covers. Getting hello kitty shampoo in the wound of his forehead snapped him out of it in a hurry. When he started on his body his thoughts drifted to more depressing things, like how their relationship was a secret and could get them both killed.

               Those thoughts didn’t last though, not when he finished toweling off and made it to Ilhoon’s bedroom where Ilhoon was waiting in underwear and a loose t-shirt on the bed. He tossed some clothes into Sehun’s face and he almost didn’t catch them. Sehun blamed it on the exhausting day and the fact he just came really hard. He slipped the underwear and t-shirt on while Ilhoon’s gaze burned into him like a brand. They fit perfectly.

               “These are mine.” Sehun wanted to tell Ilhoon to keep them, that he liked seeing Ilhoon in his clothes, but it probably wasn’t a good idea. Ilhoon sensed his hesitation and he pulled Sehun down onto the bed with him, shuffling around until he could lay with his head on Sehun’s shoulder, body flush against Sehun’s side. Sehun wrapped his arm around Ilhoon’s form and craned his neck to kiss him.

               “I’m going to kill the boss.” It was out of nowhere and Sehun startled. He wasn’t so startled that he loosened his hold though, fuck that.

               “You're going to do what?” Ilhoon was staring him in the eyes, deadly serious.

               “Kill the boss. I’m going to kill him and put Joo in his place.” Sehun could practically hear the pieces clicking together. His mind was running a mile a minute, sorting through everything that had happened so far and it all made so much sense he couldn’t believe he didn’t notice it. Then again, a coup d’état isn’t usually the first thing that comes to anyone’s mind. Ilhoon was starting to fidget at his silence.

               “I don’t expect anything from you. I just thought you should know.” Ilhoon had finally looked away from Sehun, but Sehun grabbed his face and pulled it back. Ilhoon might not expect anything, but Sehun wasn’t going to just sit by and do nothing.

               “What do you want me to do? I’ll do it.” Ilhoon hesitated, drumming a nervous pattern with his fingertips on Sehun’s sternum.

               “Could you get Yixing and Seungri to support Joo?” That was it? Sehun didn’t even have to kill a guy or anything? Talking to Yixing and Seungri was easy compared to the images of torture and murder that had initially flickered through his brain.

               “Yeah, I’ll talk to them.” Ilhoon kissed him, there was no tongue but there were a thousand feelings behind it.

               “Thanks, and when the boss is dead I’ll wear whatever shirt you want me to.” Ilhoon’s voice was a little too gritty and sexy, and Sehun flushed all the way to his ears. Just what the fuck kind of disappointed face had he been making earlier that Ilhoon could see right through him? Whatever, he could already think of his top three shirts that Ilhoon would be wearing while Sehun fucked him.

               “Mm, I have some ideas.”

               “I’m sure you do.” Ilhoon laughed and snuggled into his side, clearly ready for sleep. Sehun drug the covers over them and reached over to flick the lamp off.

               “Good night.”

               “Sehun…”

               “Hm?” The second darkness had descended Sehun could feel his eyes going heavy but he managed to hum in response.

               “I love you too.”

               Sehun woke up the next day not to an alarm, not to someone shaking him awake, he just… woke up. There was sun shining in so it was definitely daytime. He was holding Ilhoon firmly to his chest, their legs tangled together. Sehun always loved being the big spoon. His last girlfriend hated it, she said she felt stifled by his body heat. Ilhoon was clutching Sehun’s arm with his own like it was a teddy bear so he clearly had no issue with it.

               Ilhoon’s phone let out a shrill beep and Ilhoon snapped up, nearly ripping Sehun’s arm off in the process. He fumbled around until he could check it before he finally relaxed.

               “Hyuna wants to meet tomorrow instead.” Ilhoon sounded irritated, and not in a just woke up sort of way.

               “Is something wrong?” Ilhoon sighed and rubbed at his eyes. It was clear he wasn’t going to lay back down so Sehun sat up next to him.

               “No. She probably _thinks_ there’s something wrong.”

               “She’s worried about you?”

               “Yeah. She worries too much. Sometimes…” Ilhoon hesitated, fussing with the bedspread over his lap. “Sometimes after it’s bad with the boss she doesn’t think I’m up to working.”

               “Is she right?” The silence that followed told Sehun she was most certainly right. Ilhoon grabbed Sehun’s hand and entwined their fingers.

               “She’s not right this time.” Then Ilhoon was kissing him, gentle at first but then he ran his tongue along Sehun’s bruised bottom lip. When Sehun met Ilhoon’s tongue with his own the smaller man shifted to straddle Sehun’s lap.

               “Since we have the day off…” He ground his hips down into Sehun’s hardening dick and Sehun was totally ready for a round of morning sex, except wasn’t there usually someone here in the day to keep an eye on Ilhoon?

               “Wait, what about your babysitter?” Ilhoon groaned and threw himself back onto the bed between Sehun’s legs.

               “Doojoon would have woken us up if the next shift started.” But Ilhoon didn’t sound sure, and he was motioning for his phone on the night stand. “Will you check what time it is?” Sehun ran his hand over the stretch of exposed skin on Ilhoon’s stomach and checked his phone. Ten am? That was way later than last time.

               “It’s ten.”

               “Doojoon-hyung!” Sehun wasn’t expecting Ilhoon to yell it out and it nearly gave him a damn heart attack. Then there was a knock on the door, which was pointless because Doojoon came in immediately after.

               “I thought I heard you guys moving around in here.” Ilhoon didn’t move, so Sehun didn’t move, and Doojoon was trying his absolute best not to look where Sehun was touching Ilhoon’s skin. “The daytime guy is still in Oido so I volunteered to stay.”

               “Thank you, hyung.” Doojoon nodded and shuffled awkwardly.

               “Yeah, no problem, just remember these walls are kind of thin, okay?” Ilhoon was smiling up at Doojoon with an innocent grin, all teeth and baby unicorn eyes.

               “Of course, hyung.” Doojoon rolled his eyes and shut the door a little too hard. Ilhoon turned his cutesy look on Sehun. “We left the lube in the bathroom.” Sehun knew what he meant, he meant ‘Sehun, go get the lube from the bathroom while I lay here in the warm sunlight like some type of pretty, otherworldly fairy.’ Okay, maybe Sehun added the last part, but he got the message and he made his way out of the covers to grab the lube.

               When he came back Ilhoon was still laying stretched out on the bed. But he was completely naked. Sehun was squeezing the lube and he heard the plastic flex under the pressure. He tossed it at Ilhoon before he broke the damn thing and stripped his own clothes off. Before he could climb onto the bed though Ilhoon stopped him with a foot to the chest.

               “Want to watch?” Watch what? What was happening? Sehun’s brain was sputtering like a broken car engine. He figured out what Ilhoon meant real quick when Ilhoon pressed a lubed finger into himself. Sehun stood there, still as a statue, holding one of Ilhoon’s ankles. He did, in fact, want to watch. Ilhoon added a second finger and used his free hand to tease one of his nipples.

               “After Gwangju I touched myself like this and thought of you fucking me.” Ilhoon’s voice was throaty and soft all at once. “I thought about how much deeper you’d be able to get.” Sehun whined like a begging puppy but he couldn’t bring himself to be embarrassed about it, even when Ilhoon chuckled in response. Ilhoon pushed his fingers deeper and arched his back when he grazed the sensitive nerves inside himself. Sehun’s hands were itching with the need to touch, but he held back. He was focusing all of his attention on Ilhoon fucking himself on his hand.

               “Ah, fuck, Sehun.” Ilhoon panted out his name when he added the third finger and Sehun couldn’t take it anymore. He kneeled between Ilhoon’s legs and leaned forward to run fingertips over Ilhoon’s abdomen, from his belly to his nipples, following their trail with his tongue. He grunted in surprise when Ilhoon flipped him onto his back and crawled on top of him.

               “I thought about riding you for real, not just grinding in a cramped car.” Sehun thrust up against Ilhoon’s ass without any thought behind it, his cock sliding against Ilhoon’s skin. He too had thought about Ilhoon riding him. Many times, in fact. Ilhoon reached back with a lubed hand to stroke Sehun a few times before guiding Sehun to his entrance. The second he started to sink down onto Sehun’s cock Sehun’s hands were on his hips, squeezing hard in an attempt to not pull Ilhoon down.

               Once Sehun was all the way inside Ilhoon shifted his hips a little, fitting Sehun into him even more. Sehun would swear to any God that he saw stars. Ilhoon wasn’t moving, but the tightness around Sehun’s hardness and the weight of Ilhoon over him felt so good he could probably come from that alone. Ilhoon’s eyebrows were furrowed together, eyes screwed shut and forehead glistening with sweat. Sehun rubbed his legs in comforting circles.

               “Are you okay?” Ilhoon nodded and let out a gasping, whining breath.

               “You’re so deep…” He tested out a shallow roll of his hips and groaned. His fingertips were digging into Sehun’s abs for support. He rolled them again, a little more this time and his mouth dropped open. “You feel amazing inside me.” Sehun could listen to Ilhoon talk dirty to him for hours, but it also turned him on enough that he felt a primal need to get off right this minute. This time when Ilhoon moved his hips Sehun moved his too, thrusting up into Ilhoon. The moan Ilhoon let out sounded like it had been ripped from his throat.  

               After that Ilhoon was just as eager to get off as Sehun. He used his hands on Sehun’s stomach as leverage and matched Sehun’s upward thrusting. Sehun had a fleeting thought about how loud they were being when Doojoon suggested they keep it down. The bed was creaking under them, and Ilhoon was letting out short, cracked moans, clearly not trying to contain himself. The sound was pushing Sehun closer to the edge.

               It was the sight of Ilhoon in ecstasy above him, body lean and flexing while he forced Sehun into his body, cock dripping pre-come onto Sehun’s stomach that pushed him over that edge.

               “I’m going to come.” His voice was hoarse and quiet but Ilhoon heard him.

               “Me too.” Ilhoon gripped his own cock and stroked himself. Sehun couldn’t take it, he felt his thoughts going fuzzy and he held Ilhoon down by the hips when he came. Ilhoon shuddered at the sensation, that was all it took and he was coming over Sehun’s bellybutton. He wasted no time before he rolled off Sehun to lay next to him.

               “That was better than I imagined, we should do it again.” Sehun shifted to his side, resting his head on his elbow so he could look at Ilhoon. Ilhoon was studying his face with tired eyes and a half smile.

               “Okay, but I’m going to need a minute.” Ilhoon shoved him off the bed. Sehun was laughing when he clambered back up to sit next to Ilhoon. Ilhoon who was starting to shiver.

               “Let’s get dressed, the we can get some breakfast. Lunch, whatever.” Ilhoon didn’t move even an inch when Sehun stood and gathered his clothes.

               “You’re going to get dressed with that come still on you?” Sehun glanced down to his abdomen.

               “I guess not, and you probably want me to go grab a towel?” Sehun wanted to gripe about catering to Ilhoon like he was royalty, but Ilhoon propped himself up on his elbows and gave Sehun his best ‘you’re a dumbass’ look.

               “Well, it would be nice since I have come dripping out of my ass.” Fair point. And Sehun figured since it was his come the least he could do it go across the hall and get a towel. But he still had to do something, right? So he jerked the sheet out from under Ilhoon who let out a startled yell.

               “I need to cover myself.” Sehun barely wrapped it around his waist, scrutinized it, and let it fall to the floor. “It’s too big, guess I’ll just put on my underwear.” Ilhoon was glaring daggers into the back of his head as he made his way to the bathroom.

               “I said the walls were thin you assholes!” Doojoon was screeching from the living room where the tv was turned up. Sehun couldn’t help but laugh. Poor Doojoon.

               “Sorry!”

               “You are not!” Doojoon was right, Sehun wasn’t sorry at all. He was hungry though, so he wiped himself down and hurried back, throwing the towel at Ilhoon’s face and pulling on his clothes. Ilhoon was taking his time, when Sehun was fully dressed Ilhoon had only gotten on a pair of worn jeans and he was looking through shirts like he was trying to solve world peace or some shit.

               “Whatever you wear will look good.” He grabbed whichever shirt was in Ilhoon’s hands, something black, and shoved it over Ilhoon’s head.

               “I can get dressed myself, dick.” Sehun ignored him and stuffed his bony arms through the arm holes. Ilhoon sighed in exasperation but smiled all the same. Once the shirt was fully on Ilhoon looped those bony arms around Sehun’s neck and kissed him. Sehun decided food could wait. He deepened their kiss and drew Ilhoon closer. Ilhoon broke it with a tender sigh.

               “I love you.”

               “I love you too.” Then Sehun’s phone rang. He groaned in annoyance but didn’t let Ilhoon go. He was debating letting it go to voicemail. But he didn’t. There was too much important shit going on right now. He fished it out of his pocket and was greeted with the beaming smile of Luna’s contact photo.

               “Hello?”

               “Where are you?” She didn’t sound mad or distressed. That was good.

               “I’m at Ilhoon’s. We were just getting ready to go out to eat.” She gave him a contemplative hum.

               “Okay, when you’re done will you come back here? Yixing and Seungri are coming over.” Sometimes, okay most times, things didn’t work out perfectly. This time however all the people he needed to see were coming together and that would give him the chance to talk up Joo.

               “Yeah, sure. We shouldn’t be long.” She didn’t say goodbye before she hung up. What was with people doing that to him lately? Have some fucking manners, damn it. Ilhoon was waiting, focused on Sehun with an inquisitive gaze.

               “Luna wants me to meet Yixing and Seungri with her. I’ll talk to them then.” Ilhoon relaxed and hugged Sehun by the waist.

               “Thank you.” Sehun hugged him back.

               “We’re in this together.” Ilhoon hugged harder. “Now let’s go get some food.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter went up a day late! It was giving me a ton of trouble so I ended up splitting it into two chapters and adding more sex to this one.


	22. Game, Set

                Walking into his own apartment was like walking into a fucking brick wall. Yixing and Seungri were already there sitting with Luna in the living room. But no one was saying anything. It was just a quiet wall of apprehension and hostility. Sehun had assumed Luna taking over would be easy. No one liked his brother much so he thought they would be happy with the change in leadership. Clearly he thought wrong.

                “Who fucking died?” They were staring at him, each one of them some kind of confused or annoyed. Maybe it wasn’t a great saying for this situation considering people could actually die. “It’s as heavy as a fucking funeral home in here.”

                “You don’t think we should be taking this seriously?” Seungri sounded like an angry teacher trying to scold a smart-ass middle schooler. Sehun sat tentatively on the arm of Luna’s chair.

                “I think you should be taking it less seriously than you are right now.”

                “It’s just, you shot your brother.” Yixing wasn’t as vicious as Seungri and he at least sounded legitimately concerned about what was going on.

                “That wasn’t Sehun’s fault.” Yixing shrunk under Luna’s authority. So he shouldn’t be too hard to sway over, he was always good at seeing reason anyway. Seungri however was scrutinizing her so intensely it might as well have been directed at Sehun.

                “And we’re supposed to believe Sehun’s own brother turned on him?” Yixing was nodding along to Seungri like he made a good point. God damn it.

                “You know as well as anyone else he was toeing the line long before now.” Sehun could watch Yixing switch back and forth between agreeing with Luna and Seungri all day. The leader of the international girls was expressive as hell and he didn’t bother to hide it unless he absolutely had to. Like that one time they got drunk and some angry pickpockets tried to beat them up. Watching Yixing intimidate them had been an amazing sight.

                “And you know he couldn’t have been happy about Sehun hooking up with the boss’ whor-“ Yixing caught Sehun’s eyes, “er, kept boy?” Sehun changed his mind about Yixing. He did not like him, sitting over there with his innocent eyes that pick up on things they shouldn’t. Even if he was supporting Luna.

                “I’m not.” He could tell no one in the room believed him. He was supposed to be in a _secret relationship_ , that meant it should be a fucking _secret_. Ilhoon picked the worst possible person to fall for because everyone in his life was reading him like an issue of easy to read weekly.

                “Oh, yeah. Of course not.”

                “So his brother attacked him.” Seungri cut in, “thank goodness you were there to swoop in and save Sehun from the bonds of leadership, right?” His words were like a mouthful of glass, all pain and cutting bitterness.

                “I asked her to be the leader. She’ll do better than I will.” Luna grazed her hand against his in a quiet thanks.

                “I think she’ll do a good job.” Sehun liked Yixing again. Seungri on the other hand, he was staring at Yixing with murderous eyes and a clenched jaw. What the fuck was his problem anyway?

                “You don’t think I’ll do well, Seungri?” The lack of honorific did not go unnoticed. It was a not so subtle way for Luna to challenge Seungri and Sehun was holding his breath. After eons Seungri finally leaned back into the couch and smiled a soft, condescending smile at her.

                “I think you’ll do fine.” He didn’t say anything about her using his name so Sehun counted that as a win. Luna on the other hand, she exhaled so excessively it sounded like ‘I’m done with all of your shit’ to Sehun.

                “Disorder does no one any good,” even Seungri nodded along to that, “and working together has always been to the benefit of all of us, right?”

                “That’s right.” Seungri was interested, leaning forward a fraction closer to Luna. Yixing was smiling at Sehun, seemingly just happy things were working out. Yixing and Sehun could bond over their love of calm seas like really shitty pirates or something.

                “I know things have been…” She paused, choosing her words carefully. “I know things have been arduous lately. There have been difficulties within our circle, with the boss and his own style of leadership, but we are stronger together.”

                “Agreed.” Seungri was the first to agree? Things were looking up after all.

                “Seconded.” Good, they were both on board. Sehun liked when things were easy. Easy enough, anyway. Hopefully the next part would go just as easily.

                “The boss and his style of leadership… Maybe that should change, huh?” They were staring at Sehun like he’d grown three extra heads.

                “What are you talking about?” It was Luna who questioned him first. Initially Sehun thought she’d jump at the chance to put someone else in power but now he was hesitating. If she didn’t agree what the fuck would he do? Call Ilhoon to sort it out? He was supposed to be helping not creating more work.

                “What if someone else was in charge?” If the mood of the room had improved at all since Sehun arrived that improvement was gone now.

                “That kid must fuck really well if you’re willing to betray the boss.” Sehun wanted to be angry and say something nasty back, but now wasn’t the time. And honestly what else was Seungri supposed to think? Sehun was never one to rock the boat before now, and now he was tipping the whole fucking thing over.

                “That’s not what this is about.”

                “It isn’t?” Seungri was looking at him sharply, calculating and too fucking knowing.

                “What happened to ‘ _I’m not_ ’?” Yixing was imitating his voice, if his voice sounded like a petulant 5 year old that is, and laughing. The sound seemed to put the other two at ease.

                “Well, if everyone already knows what’s the point?” The boss would be dead soon anyway. That part Sehun would be keeping to his damn self.

                “You are the absolute worst, you know that?” Luna was snickering at him. He knew he wasn’t the _worst exactly_ , but probably the worst at keeping this shit low-key. He didn’t even do anything that would give them away.

                “How did you guys know?”

                “We know you and you were looking at him like he was a motherfucking buffet.” Seungri was amused. That was good right?

“We talked about it a lot when you were gone.” Neither Yixing or Seungri had the decency to look guilty. Sehun regretted asking.

                “I’m trying to talk about something serious here!”

                “You asked. It’s not our fault you can’t keep your eyes to yourself.” Luna wasn’t helping. Well, she wasn’t helping Sehun. Seungri and Yixing were more than happy to have Luna on their side.

                “Weren’t you also the one who said we shouldn’t be taking this so seriously?” Yixing slapped Seungri on the shoulder, overcome with giggles.

                “ _It’s like a funeral home in here_.” Seungri crumbled at Yixing’s mocking voice.

                “You sound just like him!” Even Luna was losing it. Sehun hated all of these people.

                “Can we focus for one fucking minute!” Seungri pulled it together long enough to give Sehun a predatory look. This was going to be bad.

                “Tell us how he is in bed. He’s a top from the bottom type right?” Sehun wouldn’t admit that he shrieked in embarrassment.

                “What does top from the bottom mean?” Yixing sounded legitimately perplexed.

                “How are you so innocent when you run a prostitution ring?” Luna was crying, trying to breath through what could barely be called laughter at this point. Seungri patted Yixing’s knee comfortingly.

                “Toping from the bottom is when two men are having sex and the one who is taking the dick –“ Sehun jolted forward and slapped a hand over Seungri’s mouth.

                “No! We are not talking about this right now.” Seungri licked Sehun’s fingers and Sehun immediately recoiled. Yuck.

                “Careful, you don’t know where those fingers have been.”

                “Noona, Jesus Christ!”

                “Hey, I had to listen to you two the other night. _‘Oh God, Sehun, oh fuck me’_.” She did not sound like Ilhoon at all, but Sehun still had to put a stop to this. He stuffed a pillow from the couch into Luna’s face.

                “The boss could literally kill me over this!” Luna wiggled free and the room finally died down. The harsh atmosphere isn’t exactly what Sehun wanted. Truth be told if this wasn’t literally life or death he would probably be laughing along with the others. The silver lining was really shining down on Sehun in this moment. Once Ilhoon put Joo in charge he could laugh along with them, because he and Ilhoon would be free to tell whoever they want.

                “Alright, so what exactly is the plan?” Luna asked, steadfast and confident in Sehun. Too bad Sehun didn’t know the plan exactly.

                “Joo is going to take over.”

                “And you think that’s going to go over peacefully? People are what, just going to bow down and be okay with that?” Seungri made very good points, and before Sehun could try his best to refute them Yixing chimed in.

                “That’s why you’re trying to convince us right? If Joo has the support of the prostitutes that could go a long way.” Yixing was a leader for a reason, he was smart and practical.

                “And Joo already has a lot of support doesn’t she?” Luna didn’t look irritated per se, but Sehun could tell she was already rethinking the money Ilhoon and Joo had given her. Sehun understood. It felt wrong somehow that Ilhoon had given them the money with ulterior motives, but he also hadn’t asked them to support Joo explicitly.

                “Yeah, I think she does. Ilhoon seemed pretty confident.”

                “And what if we go to the boss with this plan?” Fuck. Sehun hadn’t thought of that. He knew that Luna wouldn’t betray him, there was no way. He was somewhat sure Yixing wouldn’t either. Despite his shady criminal life Yixing wasn’t looking to get anyone killed. Seungri on the other hand, Sehun was less and less convinced he knew the man at all.

                “Someone already tried to turn the boss on Ilhoon. That person is dead.” Sehun used his best threatening voice, all serious and severe with just a dash of low growl. Seungri was surprised and he backed off, a crack in his mask at this new Sehun he wasn’t used to.

                “Ilhoon may be willing to kill someone but are you?” Seungri was assuming who killed Hyunseung, and Sehun knew Seungri wasn’t afraid of Ilhoon. Really though, he fucking should be. The deeper Sehun thought about just what Ilhoon was doing the more he believed that. Maybe Sehun could make Seungri afraid.

                “Ilhoon didn’t kill him, Ilhoon talked the boss into killing him.” Seungri was wavering, Sehun could see it, so he pressed on. “And if you want to tell the boss about this you’ll find out just how willing I am.”

                “Good for me that I happen to agree with Joo taking over, I suppose.” Seungri seemed nonchalant, carefree, but everyone could tell that he was taking Sehun’s threat seriously and he was shaken by it. Good. Sehun wasn’t looking to burn bridges, but he would light that fire if he needed to.

                “It’s that easy?” Luna was skeptical, but Seungri shrugged her off.

                “Why should it be hard? Our current less-than-benevolent leader has done nothing but raise dues and tighten the reigns.” Seungri was tapping his fingertips against his knee while he debated his next words. “Besides, Joo grew up here, scraping by while looking after her brother… I would rather have someone like that in charge.” It was a rare moment of pure, laid-bare honesty from the oldest member of their small group. Luna eased which in turn made Sehun and Yixing ease. She was already a better leader than his volatile brother.

                “More so,” Seungri continued “Joo and Ilhoon don’t seem like the type to forget who supported them right?” Yixing groaned and Sehun wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment. Seungri couldn’t just leave the moment nice and warm-hearted could he? But it was fair, if he was going to back the change in leadership it was best to know it wasn’t for nothing.

                “If all of this is settled I have stuff to do.” Yixing was already off the couch and stretching before he finished his sentence, Seungri following his actions.

                “Thanks.” And Sehun meant it. Yixing smiled and pulled him into a quick hug before he made for the door.

                “Don’t thank us yet.” Seungri stood in front of him, solemn. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you aren’t going to try and kill me.” Sehun laughed and the corners of Seungri’s mouth quirked up. In the end Sehun decided fuck it and hugged the man the same way Yixing had hugged him. Luna walked him to the door like a good host and locked it.

                “This turned into a shitstorm, huh?”

                “Yeah.” Sehun dropped into the couch and it creaked under his weight. Luna joined him and rested her head on his shoulder.

                “Do you really think Joo leading will be a good idea? Or are you just doing this because Ilhoon asked?” There was more to what Luna was asking, Sehun could feel the complication like he was drinking finely aged whiskey. He hadn’t really thought about if Joo would be a good leader, he didn’t know her.

                “I don’t know. I do know she can’t be worse than the boss now.” He draped an arm around her shoulders. “Do you think Joo will be a good leader?” Luna shrugged against him.

                “I think so. Even if her motives weren’t entirely charitable she did help a lot of people.”

                “Are you mad about Ilhoon giving you that money?”

                “No. I’m mad he didn’t tell me what was going on.” That seemed fair. She and Ilhoon had a relationship built on trust with each other as far as Sehun knew. He didn’t know why Ilhoon wouldn’t tell her, but there had to be a reason.

                “You could try sleeping with him, that’s how I got him to tell _me_.” She punched him in the arm and laughed.

                “I’m sure you’d be totally fine with that.” Sehun tightened his grip on her shoulders when an image of Luna and Ilhoon fucking intruded on his thoughts.

                “Maybe not.”

                “You looooove him.” She teased and pinched his side.

                “Yeah.” There was a sudden seriousness, but it wasn’t harsh like it was with Yixing and Seungri. It was warm and homey and comfortable.

                “Good luck with all of this.” She grinned up at him. “I’ll have your back no matter what.”

                Sehun let himself into Hyuna and E’dawn’s the next day and Ilhoon was already there. They had moved all of the furniture in the living room. E’dawn was sitting cross-legged on the couch that had been pushed to the farthest wall, doing something on a laptop. Hyuna and Ilhoon were bent over and taping marks all over the floor.

                “Oh, hey.” Ilhoon straightened, stretching his back as if making tape marks was the most laborious job in the world. Maybe it was to him if he had to move the furniture too. Sehun hesitated. He was going to be bold, but also natural. Forward, but casual. He gave Ilhoon a quick peck on the mouth before going to drop his bag and jacket next to E’dawn on the couch.

                “What are you guys doing?” He didn’t get an answer right away but Ilhoon was smiling at him, all warm and happy. So Sehun didn’t need to worry about a stupid kiss at all.

                “Stop looking at him like that, you’re creeping me out.” Holy shit, did Sehun always look at Ilhoon like he was a ‘motherfucking buffet’?

                “I’m not looking at him!” Okay, he probably didn’t need to sound so defensive. Hyuna was smirking at him.

                “I meant Ilhoon. He’s looking at you like…” She imitated a shy anime girl hiding under a tree and he could practically see the cherry blossom petals and feel the exact perfect animated wind. Ilhoon threw a roll of tape at her. She caught it easily enough, but at least it broke the illusion.

                “I had to put up with you and Hyojong so suck it up!”

                “They’re making a mock layout of the bank so they can memorize exactly where everything is.” E’dawn didn’t even look up from his computer. Hyuna and Ilhoon went back to work with Hyuna still shooting teasing glances in Ilhoon’s direction and Ilhoon looking increasingly annoyed at her. Sehun sat on the couch next to E’dawn, peering over his shoulder to look at the security camera footage E’dawn was watching.

                “You aren’t going into the bank with them?” E’dawn scoffed at him.

                “Fuck no. That’s way too dangerous for me.” Maybe they had mentioned Hyuna and Ilhoon going in alone, but Sehun wasn’t listening enough at the beginning. He felt a stir of worry but he pushed it down. They were professionals, prepared professionals who would be fine.

                “I guess we’ll leave the hard stuff to our girlfriends huh?” Ilhoon didn’t look up from the X he was making on the floor, opting to flip Sehun off instead.

                “Love you, sweetheart.” Sehun made sure his voice was full of as much sweetness as he could muster.

                “Fuck off, darling.” Ilhoon matched his tone of voice.

                “Did you finish the escape route?” Hyuna cut them off but she was trying to hide a smile at their antics.

                “Yeah, I drove it a couple days ago and it was solid.”

                “Good, go over it with E’dawn so he can pinpoint all the traffic cams. We can watch them this week.” The rest of the afternoon passed slowly, Sehun showed E’dawn the route, he brought up the traffic cams, and they watched them. It was boring, but it was also important so Sehun paid close attention to every car that passed, the ebb and flow of traffic down to the minute, and even the pedestrians if he thought they stood out.

                Ilhoon and Hyuna practiced where to stand and how to move. They studied the layout of the bank both from the blueprint and from they mock bank they had made. They adjusted things an inch, then adjusted them again. Honestly it looked just as boring as what Sehun was doing, but hey it would help keep them alive so that made it considerably more exciting.

                The entire next week was a blur of the nearly the exact same thing, all day, every day. There was one day where Sehun and E’dawn acted out the security and the bank patrons in different scenarios, and another day where Sehun spent the whole day with E’dawn in different cars driving the route he had planned. It was a fucking hassle and a half to use a different car each time, but Hyuna has insisted they be as careful as possible. The last guy who drove for them was dead so Sehun tended to agree with caution.

                Doojoon wasn’t at Ilhoon’s at all. He and Ilhoon hadn’t been able to do much more than some heated making out, and even that was incredibly limited. They mostly just worked on the heist because Ilhoon had to go home to his guard dog early each night. Killing the boss was looking better and better and Sehun took a moment to let that thought sink in. He had to remind himself he shouldn’t be so cavalier about murder.

                It wasn’t until the night before the heist that he finally got a real moment alone with Ilhoon. It wouldn’t be a long one, but Ilhoon had told the person watching him that he needed some air and it had bought them some time. Hyuna had shoved them out the door with the command to go on a date or something because tomorrow they needed to ‘keep their eyes on the prize and off each other’. So here they sat, on the hood of Sehun’s car in an abandoned building’s parking lot.

                “Are you nervous?” Sehun wanted to say that no, he wasn’t. He was confident and totally cool and prepared.

                “Yeah.” Well, that worked too. “I’m worried about you in there alone…” Ilhoon was smirking over at him, a playful look in his eyes.

                “Afraid I can’t handle it?” Sehun scooched closer.

                “I’m afraid the bank manager will seduce you.” Ilhoon laughed and shoved at him a little. Sehun grabbed his hand and pulled Ilhoon into an awkward hug. Sitting on the hood of the car was stupid.

                “No I’m…” Sehun started but it took him a second to process his own feelings before he could get to the second part. “I’m afraid of something happening to you.” And he meant that. He was terrified. He had done some dangerous things, but he never had something to lose before. He was risking jail time, sure, but this was a whole new level of risk for him. He felt Ilhoon hug him back with trembling arms.

                “I’m worried about you too. After Ji-sung –“ Ilhoon cut himself off and held Sehun tighter. He didn’t want to go there and Sehun didn’t blame him. But Sehun was sure of himself.

                “I’m better than Ji-sung, a lot better, and if you can get out of that bank I can do the rest.” Ilhoon pulled back to give him a smile that was somehow both reassuring and smug all at once.

                “I’ll get out of that bank, don’t worry about that.” Sehun figured Ilhoon was probably as confident in his own skill as Sehun was in his. That was good, they were totally, probably, no definitely going to be fine. He had to remind himself that Ilhoon had done this before and he came out unscathed. Sehun flopped back against the windshield, dragging Ilhoon down with him.

                “Tomorrow after the heist, with the boss…” Ilhoon adjusted himself more comfortably into Sehun’s side, waiting for Sehun to continue, but Sehun didn’t finish. He couldn’t. He was thinking about what the boss said, when he wanted to do to Ilhoon, and it made his stomach turn.

                “Tomorrow after the heist I’m going to kill him.”

                “So soon?” Sehun blurted it out without thinking about it.

                “I don’t have a lot of time unless I want to let him fuck me.” Ilhoon sounded irritated, but Sehun got the feeling it wasn’t directed at him necessarily. It was the general shittiness of the situation.

                “What will you do with your new found freedom?”

                “Make out with you in public.” Sehun let out a breathy laugh. Right now was not the time to be thinking about making out in public, maybe against the car, maybe in a crowded night club after having just the right amount of alcohol and then they would go out to the car and, well, he cut his train of thought off right there.

                “Anything else?” Ilhoon thought seriously for moment, fussing with the fabric of Sehun’s t-shirt.

                “Probably stay out all night. Or maybe stay in and do whatever I want. I could use my own living room.” Ilhoon sounded way too excited at the thought of being able to use his living room.

                “I could go on a trip! Maybe to Busan, or I could even leave the country.” He sat up as he worked himself into a state of pure giddiness at all of the things he could do. He was beaming down at Sehun like sunshine. “You could come with me.”

                “That would be fun.” They could go to the beach and Ilhoon could bitch about getting sand everywhere. Sehun couldn’t believe that sounded as good as it did.

                “We could go to Gwangju and you could race.”

                “That would be _really_ fun.” Ilhoon bent down to kiss him, it was brief and energetic but it had Sehun smiling even more.

                “Just one more day.” Sehun pushed himself up so he could kiss Ilhoon properly. He moved his lips against Ilhoon’s and held his face. When he heard Ilhoon make a small sound of pleasure in his throat he pulled back with a sigh.

                “Just one more day.”


	23. Match

                Sehun showed up at Hyuna and E’dawn’s apartment last, again. He would swear he was early, but Ilhoon was earlier. Ilhoon was dressed up too, and Sehun had to chant ‘eyes on the prize’ to himself like a damn prayer. Ilhoon was wearing a tight black suit, black pants, black tie, black button-up. He looked sexy as hell.

                “See something you like?” Ilhoon teased, not looking up from where he was buttoning his suit jacket. Hyuna and E’dawn needed to come out from wherever they were before he lost his damn mind.

                “Most definitely.” Ilhoon grabbed something from the chair and shoved it over his perfectly styled hair. It was a mask of a clown face, it was somehow plain and terrifying all at once.

                “What do you think?” Sehun stepped closer, pretending to examine the horrible mask. He was also pretending he wasn’t freaked the fuck out.

                “I can barely tell you’re wearing a mask. It looks just like you!” Ilhoon snorted and jerked the mask up his face so he could give Sehun a dirty look.

                “Then you have seriously questionable taste.”

                “Lucky for you.” Sehun leaned in to kiss Ilhoon but he pulled the mask back down too quickly. Sehun’s lips met the cold rubber, he realized he was kissing a clown, and he recoiled. It sent shivers down his spine and he felt his body twitch at the sensation. Ilhoon thought he was so fucking funny. He had pulled the mask off and was laughing so hard he had to hold onto the chair.

                “You two seem to be having a good time.” Hyuna and E’dawn finally joined them, Hyuna in a suit that matched Ilhoon’s.

                “You too, Noona. Your hair’s matted in the back.” Ilhoon was still half laughing, keeping his voice cute. Hyuna reached back to feel her hair.

                “It is not you dick.” E’dawn looked smug and amused, probably because Hyuna may not have matted hair, but the fact that she checked confirmed just what she and E’dawn had been doing while they were getting ready. Sehun really wished he had a chance to fuck up Ilhoon’s hair, but he was not thinking about that right now. He was definitely not thinking about Ilhoon on his back, head thrown back.

                “You okay?” Hyuna was smirking at him and he needed to stop looking at Ilhoon.

                “Yeah, totally fine.” Ilhoon kissed him. Sehun was expecting something quick and light, but Ilhoon didn’t pull away. He had his hands on Sehun’s face, body against the taller man’s, and when Sehun realized Ilhoon wasn’t backing off he looped his arms around Ilhoon’s back. They were kissing for too long, they had other things to do, and when Ilhoon slipped his tongue into Sehun’s mouth Hyuna cleared her throat.

                “Are you ready?” Ilhoon mumbled it across Sehun’s lips. Sehun sighed and let Ilhoon go.

                “I’m ready.”

                Sehun should have known the day wouldn’t go perfectly. Because of course it wouldn’t. They were staring at the open doors of the Lamborghini, Hyuna looking so bewildered you almost couldn’t see the anger underneath it.

                “How did _neither_ of you notice this car had NO FUCKING BACK SEATS?” There was a silence that Sehun refused to fill with the truth. The truth being he was way too distracted by racing and his feelings for Ilhoon. Ilhoon also refused to say anything, and he looked pretty fucking guilty.

                “I know how.” E’dawn laughed but Hyuna didn’t think it was funny. She was boring into him with angry eyes. God bless E’dawn because he somehow was unaffected. He pulled Hyuna close and kissed the side of her head.

                “It’s fine, Noona. You and Ilhoon are small enough to fit back there.” Except that was barely true. It took a lot of shuffling and maneuvering to get them behind the seats. Once they were in all the car it was so tight the air felt hard to breath.

                “So this is going to fuck us up when we come out of the bank, huh?” Ilhoon’s comment was not necessary. They were all already thinking it.

                “Would it be better to take a different car? Which is worse, the time it takes to get into this car or taking a car that’s slower?” It took a few seconds for Sehun to realize Hyuna was talking to him. This could be the difference between getting away or not, and he did not want this kind of pressure. Shit, is this how Hyuna felt all the time?

                “We should take this car. It will handle better and the speed on the road will make up for it.” He said it with enough confidence that no one argued. He did think it would be the best option, the Aventador could eat pavement for breakfast and if he could get around traffic the cops chasing them wouldn’t be an issue at all.

                Then they were at the bank. Sehun felt like he had lost to whole drive over to his nerves. It was like highway hypnosis but way worse. Getting Ilhoon and Hyuna out of the car was also a blur. He really _really_ didn’t want to be so fucking nervous, but until the dynamic duo were safely back in the car he figured there wasn’t much he could do about it.

                “I’ll keep my eyes on you the best I can.” E’dawn patted the laptop he had tucked under his arm for emphasis while Hyuna and Ilhoon jammed in their ear pieces. This was happening. This was really fucking happening. But Ilhoon was smiling at him like chamomile tea and the storm inside him calmed somewhat.

                “Be ready, sweetie pie. It’s going to happen a lot faster than you think.” Ilhoon was upbeat and playful, but still sincere.

                “Just like our first time, how romantic.” E’dawn thought it was funny. He was leaning against the car and laughing. Hyuna looked amused too, but she was too professional right now for all out laughter.

                “Let’s go.” She and Ilhoon waited for exactly the amount of time it took E’dawn to pull up the security cameras on his laptop before they burst into the bank, masks down and guns up. Sehun knew they were good, but they had their timing down to the second and he let himself be impressed.

                There was no sound from the camera feed, just the faint whisper of Hyuna and Ilhoon over the earpiece, but the bank patrons were on their knees, hands up. Tellers were scrambling. It looked like manager shiny suit was crying. A beefy security guard was locking the others in the breakroom.

                “The alarm was sent out.” E’dawn mumbled it stoically, no panic in his voice. Hyuna was shouting, or at least Sehun guessed she was shouting, at a teller. The teller wasn’t Jinsu, they picked a day she wasn’t working, this teller was just some non-descript employee who was holding to together surprisingly well.

                As soon as Hyuna went with the teller to the vault some guy in street clothes decided to be a hero. He probably thought Ilhoon wasn’t very big, that he could take him, this guy was bigger after all.

“Blue shirt on your left is looking twitchy.” The second ‘blue shirt’ charged, lunging up from where he was sitting, Ilhoon kicked him hard in the chest. The man fell back to his knees, hand grasping his chest bone. It wasn’t enough though, and Ilhoon smashed him against the head with his gun.

                Sehun knew just how much that fucking hurt, but it was effective, no one else looked like they were moving anytime soon. In all of the planning Sehun hadn’t realized that they would be the violent ones. Sure, they were robbing a bank, but he had been so worried about something happening to them he hadn’t considered that they were the bad thing happening.

                Oh well, he was going to help Ilhoon murder someone so he wasn’t about to be torn up over blue shirt. He was also a little concerned that he thought it was kind of hot when Ilhoon hit people bigger than him. He’d have to deal with those feelings later because Hyuna was coming back from the vault, tossing a bag in Ilhoon’s direction. He caught it easily and they were on their way out.

                Sehun could hear distant sirens, their muted whirring mixing with the sound of the Aventador’s running engine. Calm, he needed to stay calm. He popped open the hood as soon as E’dawn snapped his laptop closed. Ilhoon and Hyuna tossed the bags into the open compartment without even looking and Sehun slammed the hood closed. Those sirens must have been fire under everyone’s ass because it took considerably less time to get Ilhoon and Hyuna shoved into the car than last time.

                That didn’t mean Sehun was going to waste any time. It still took longer to get them in the back than it would in a normal car and the flashing lights of cop cars were coming in to view. He had the brake buried, his other foot on the gas. E’dawn pulled the door down and the second he heard it click closed he released the brake.

                “Motherfucker!” Ilhoon smacked against something when the car jerked, but they were pulling ahead. It was a straight shot at first and Sehun could use that to his advantage. His car was faster, and he got a solid lead on the cops chasing them. There was a split in the road. Traffic had been heavy on the left so Sehun turned right. The car skidded across the pavement at their high speed but Sehun didn’t lose control.

                Too bad there was a fucking block in the road where one of the trees lining the street had fallen. Sehun turned the wheel in a hurry, twisting the car around to face the other way. Fuck. He didn’t have time to stop and think. He sped forward towards the cops.

                “Sehun! Sehun!” Hyuna was frantically pointing at the cars as if he couldn’t fucking see them.

                “I know!” He was gritting his teeth. This was way more stressful with people in the car. He went faster. Cops at least had a sense of self preservation, subconscious or not, and they parted just enough for Sehun to slip through. The cops took longer to turn around and Sehun was pulling ahead.

                Two cop cars pulled out in front of him, coming to a stop sideways to block his path. He turned down an alley. The tires screeched in protest. Another cop was trying to pull in front of the exit but Sehun was quicker. The Aventador clipped the cop car and its headlight smashed into a glittering powder.

                The parking garage was close to here. But they had to lose the cops before they could hide out. He needed somewhere straight he could gain some speed. Too bad they were on a _fucking island_.

                They passed a building Sehun recognized, it was under construction. He jerked the car over, through a chain-link fence. A cement truck swerved to avoid him and crashed into a concrete pillar. The rough dirt ground was harsh on the tires, they couldn’t pick up speed, but they sirens were getting farther away.

                There was a shell of a building on the other side of the construction site. Sehun drove into it. He maneuvered around the skeletal wall framing like an artist. Without the sound of traffic Sehun could hear Ilhoon and Hyuna laughing in the back.

                A wall of glass appeared before them as if out of nowhere and Sehun shattered through it, squealing into traffic on the other side. Two BMWs panicked and collided behind them. There were two more roads, then a turn and he sped by them. One. Two. He jolted left. He could barely hear the sirens at all now.

                The parking garage came up fast. He pulled into it, curving the car around each level until they were at the lowest one. It was grimy, graffitied, and barely lit. Perfect. He picked a spot tucked tightly under the ramp above it and shoved the car into park. It damn near gave him whiplash.

                They were out of the car in an instant. E’dawn helped Sehun pull a canvas tarp over the car and they were back in it so fast it made Sehun’s head spin. Now they waited. The car was dark with the windows blocked and they were all silent. There were no siren sounds but that didn’t mean they were home free.

                E’dawn flipped open his laptop. The signal was weak, barely making it through the structure, but it was enough that they could watch a choppy, pixelated live news feed of the chase.

                “Is it always this exciting?” Hyuna smiled at Sehun from her place behind E’dawn.

                “Yes.”

                They sat quietly after that, waiting and tense. When the news finally quieted down they went back to Hyuna and E’dawn’s. No one followed them, and as far as Sehun could tell no one called the cops on the recognizable car, but he still couldn’t wait to ditch it. At least for now. He would definitely be driving this car again. Maybe after a paint job.

                Hyuna and Ilhoon dumped the money onto the coffee table. Sehun knew it was a lot, but hearing someone say the number to you and looking at the physical amount were two very different feelings. The yellow bills were bunched together like gold bars and this was definitely the big leagues.

                “Joo can launder money, right?” Ilhoon made an irritated noise at Hyuna. Good to know Hyuna wasn’t excluded from Ilhoon’s ‘you’re being an idiot’ look.

                “Of course. I’m not putting someone in charge with no connections.” So apparently everyone here knew about Ilhoon’s plan to put Joo in charge. Sehun shouldn’t be shocked, Ilhoon trusted these people with his life after all. E’dawn had dropped his laptop bag on the couch and was leaning heavily on Sehun’s shoulder.

                “Once we clean up this dirty money part of that is yours.” He smiled at Sehun, tired but laced with adrenaline from the day. “What are you going to do with it?”

                “Move out of the brothel.” Sehun hadn’t thought about it much before it came out of his mouth, but it would be so nice not to hear people fucking in the rooms near his every night.

                “I’m going to build a nice computer.” E’dawn mumbled it and glared a hole in his laptop bag.

                “I might buy some shoes, maybe some red bottoms.”

                “You have like three pairs already.” E’dawn was laughing at Hyuna and she made a cute face at him. Sehun felt seriously unnerved that the two most dangerous members of their team were so adorable, it’s like they could use cuteness as a weapon.

                “But they’re different!”

                “I’m going to buy a painting.” Ilhoon was looking over Hyuna and E’dawn’s graffitied walls, full of judgment. “Something fancy. Or maybe artsy, and no fucking muscle-headed dick is going to say anything about it.” Is that why Ilhoon’s room was barely decorated? He had uncultured dickheads making shitty comments all the time?

                “I guess that means we’ve got some murder to get to.” Hyuna was joking, arm around Ilhoon’s shoulder.

                “Hyuna-noona is going to help you kill the boss?” She grinned over at Sehun and she looked a lot like a tiger. It was all lean, graceful body and soul-piercing gaze.

                “You didn’t think I’d let him do it alone, did you?”

                “Is E’dawn helping?” E’dawn pulled himself off Sehun’s shoulder awkwardly.

                “Murder is a little much for me.” He was shrouding guilt in humor. As long as Sehun had known him, which was admittedly not that long, E’dawn hadn’t been one to broadcast his feelings. Now though his feelings were obvious. He wanted to help, felt awful he couldn’t stomach murder for the people closest to him. Sehun on the other hand, he could stomach it.

                “I’ll help.” Ilhoon was analyzing him with powerful eyes.

                “You don’t have to. It’s a lot to ask.”

                “I don’t care. I want to.” Sehun wasn’t going to deny it was a lot, it was, but he was capable of it. Besides, if he was going to be dating the new boss’ little brother, and robbing banks and shit, he figured intense situations would be far more common in his life. Sehun kept his eyes locked on Ilhoon’s to show him just how serious he was, so much so he barely noticed Hyuna shoving E’dawn towards the bedroom.

                “We’ll give you a moment, okay? Just don’t fuck on my couch.” Hyuna slammed her door hard to make a point that it was closed. Ilhoon stepped closer so there was only a foot of space between them.

                “I only want you to help if you’re sure. There’s no coming back from killing someone.” Ilhoon’s voice was hushed and self-conscious. “I don’t want you to hate me after this.” Sehun jerked Ilhoon forward and wrapped his arms around his slight shoulders. He felt trembling hands clutching the back of his shirt.

                “I won’t hate you. I won’t ever hate you.”

                “Don’t make promises like that. You don’t know what will happen.” He held Ilhoon tighter.

                “This won’t be our whole life, you know that right?” Ilhoon was silent but he settled his arms more securely around Sehun, letting himself fall into the embrace.

                “Crime _is_ our whole life.”

                “I don’t mean crime. I mean all of this with the boss, with people watching your every move.” He pulled Ilhoon back and held onto his shoulders so he could look at him directly.

                “The stealing, racing, drug running, that’s all normal.” He thought for a minute. That sounded really fucked up. “Not normal, but you know what I mean. This other stuff though, it will be over.” Ilhoon was brightening as Sehun continued, his frown flicking up at the corners.

                “And when it’s over?”

                “We can just… go on dates and be cute.” Ilhoon was full on smiling and when Sehun bent down to kiss him he could feel it under his own lips.

                “Wanna fuck on the couch?” Ilhoon mumbled it against Sehun’s lips.

                “Are you ever not thinking about sex?” Ilhoon had the nerve to look innocent even while he was trailing his fingers down Sehun’s back.

                “I have two years to make up for remember? What’s your excuse?”

                “Have you looked in a mirror?” Ilhoon’s hands had reached Sehun’s waistband, right above his ass, and he kissed Sehun on the neck.

                “Enough, that’s enough.” Hyuna was practically physically pulling them apart with her words. Ilhoon sighed into Sehun’s skin but backed away.

                “I’ll meet you at the boss’ loft right? You’ll fill Sehun in?” Hyuna mock saluted him.

                “And we won’t even be late.” Ilhoon stuffed all the money back into a bag. It was probably a good idea. Sehun figured the boss wouldn’t be happy if Ilhoon showed up with nothing. He pecked Sehun’s mouth one more time before he took the money and left.

                “So the plan.” Hyuna was wasting no time. “Ilhoon is going to get the boss alone, make sure he can’t get away, and we are going to kill the muscle.” It was so matter of fact and easy Sehun stumbled over it in his brain. He was going to kill the muscle… Did Hyuna mean all of those NPC looking motherfuckers in suits the boss always had around?

                “That’s it. We just go in guns blazing and kill them all?” Hyuna was watching him, thinking something over. E’dawn shuffled awkwardly by the couch.

                “Yeah, that’s it. When it’s over we’ll call Joo and she’ll have to bodies taken care of.” It seemed so basic. A coup d’état took more than this, didn’t it? Then again, Ilhoon had practically been ticking off a ‘ten steps to put someone in power’ checklist so Sehun didn’t know exactly how much had been done already. He wasn’t sure if he should be happy it was almost over or be sad he wasn’t part of the whole thing.

                “Okay, let’s go then.” Hyuna stopped him, nails digging into his arm.

                “You have to be serious about this.” He wanted to roll his eyes but he resisted. Hyuna probably wouldn’t like that very much.

                “I literally just had this conversation with Ilhoon.” Her grip tightened.

                “Yeah? I bet that conversation ended differently.” He felt a wave of panic at her threatening tone and he glanced at E’dawn for support. E’dawn didn’t meet his gaze.

                “How is this conversation going to end?” Hyuna stepped closer, as if she needed to leave E’dawn out of this. In the small, muted apartment he would hear no matter.

                “It’s going to end with me threatening to kill you.” Sehun stepped back without even realizing it. He really thought that he was on good terms with Hyuna, that maybe she even liked him. But she was dead serious with her threat.

                “You don’t like me, huh?”

                “I _do_ like you, and that will make it very hard for me. But I like Ilhoon more.” She closed the space once more and Sehun felt his back hit the drywall with a cheap, dull thud. “If you fuck this up, if something happens and things don’t go as planned, I’ll kill you myself.”

                “I don’t think Ilhoon would like that very much.” Her eyes narrowed. Why did he have such a shitty filter? He could have kept that fucking thought to himself.

                “I don’t care if Ilhoon hates me after.” Sehun didn’t know why the thought only came to him now. Hyuna loved Ilhoon. Like really loved him. And Ilhoon probably really loved her too. Not in the same way that he loved Ilhoon, but still, it was a lot. Ilhoon was trusting Hyuna, not Joo, to help him kill the boss and that was some serious family shit. Sehun pried his arm out of Hyuna’s grasp and finally refused to back away.

                “I promise you won’t have to kill me. I love Ilhoon too.” It was like wall crumbled around Hyuna. If Sehun knew all he had to do was tell her he loved Ilhoon he would have done it ages ago. She was actually smiling a bright, happy smile at him. E’dawn appeared behind her and matched her expression. It was kind of creepy and awkward, like when a teacher sits you down to tell you how proud they are of you. Maybe Sehun preferred death.

                “Good. Let’s go.” E’dawn slung a bag over Hyuna’s shoulder. She and Sehun were out the door and in the Lamborghini without another word. It wasn’t until they were parked in front of the boss’ loft that they said anything. The sunset was filling the car with ominous red light and Sehun did his best to convince himself it was not a terrible sign. Hyuna pressed a pistol into his hand and he could focus on nothing else.

                “Are you ready?” He grinned at her and she smirked back. This was about to be both terrifying and exciting in hopefully equal measure.

                “Yeah, I’m ready.”


	24. New Blood Hustle

     “Oh, Ms. Hyuna. I’ll call-“ The doorman who greeted them was cut off with a gunshot to the head. Hyuna didn’t even flinch. Two security guards standing by the elevator scrambled to their feet and reached for guns on their hips. Bang. One headshot. Bang. Another. Sehun was spinning. Blood was leaking over the dark marble floor of the expensive building and the tap tap tap of Hyuna’s boots as she charged forward towards the elevator rang out in the empty space.

     Sehun was breathing hard, his ears were ringing, but he was trailing behind Hyuna, desperate to keep up. She jerked the elevator pass off the belt of one of the men on the floor and pressed a perfect red nail into the up button. The soft ding, ding of the elevator on its way down felt too easy for the tense atmosphere.

     “You’ve done this before?” He was genuinely curious. She was handling this like a damn professional hitman. Hyuna grinned over at him.

     “Nope, but I’ve been thinking about it for ages.” Her voice was laced with anger and Sehun could tell there was a story there. He imagined if they were assholes to Ilhoon they were probably assholes to Hyuna too. There was a resonating crack as a bullet lodged into to wall next to Sehun’s head. Fuck. Fuck. That was really fucking close.

     Hyuna grabbed his arm and pulled him behind a welcome desk, rifling around for the doorman’s gun. He shot her a questioning look.

     “I don’t have unlimited bullets, I might as well take advantage right?”

     “He’s not going to miss them.” Hyuna’s smile was wicked, and she was clearly pleased that Sehun could see reason. As fucked up as that reason was. Stealing off a dead body was seriously so low on Sehun’s list of fucked up shit right now he could not care less. The sound of splintering wood drew Sehun from his thoughts. Someone had shot at the desk. They shot again and Sehun exhaled as hard as he could. He held his gun with shaky hands and popped up from his cover.

     He had seen movies, he played video games. The guys shooting at them weren’t far away and if people in those stupid zombie shows could headshot left and right, if Hyuna could, then he could too. He fired, confident enough. He also missed. Fuck fuck fuck. He fired again. Missed again. He collapsed back behind the desk.

     “You haven’t practiced shooting!?” Sehun shot her an exasperated look.

     “No! Why would I have!?” Hyuna made an irritated sound in her throat and stood. She got two shots off, but Sehun couldn’t see where they landed. From the loud, pained groan that echoed across the stone lobby he could tell it wasn’t a head shot. She crumpled next to Sehun, her breath ragged and nervous.

     “I got one, but there are two more.” She smacked her head against the wood slightly in frustration. “We can’t be late.”

     “What difference will two minutes make?”

     “Ilhoon is upstairs, alone with the boss. A lot can happen in two minutes.” There was a storm behind her eyes. A bullet smashed through the desk and buried itself by Sehun’s foot. Sehun leaned out from the side and fired, barely aiming. It clearly didn’t matter, he wasn’t a great shot. One of the thugs dropped to his knees, clutching his thigh. Well, apparently he was great at getting people in the fucking thigh.

     Hyuna was standing, finishing him off with a well-placed bullet to the chest. They had one left. He fired at them while Hyuna was out of cover and she cried out in pain, dropping to the ground in a flash. He fingers were clutching her bicep but red was pouring out between them.

     “Are you okay?” She took a steadying breath, eyes closed, and willed away the pain.

     “I’m fine, it just grazed me.” Sehun jumped and fired three times in rapid succession. One time had to fucking hit at least. It did. The remaining thug gurgled and clasped his neck. It was gruesome and Sehun felt his stomach turn. He never thought he would be thankful to see someone slump over dead. He could bring it up during Chuseok, he’d say something like ‘I’m so thankful that guy choking on his own blood slumped over and died’. He’d have to give something really good as a gift to lighten the mood.

     The sound of Hyuna tearing her own shirt snapped Sehun out of his thoughts. She was trying to tie a strip of fabric against her wound. Sehun immediately crouched to help her.

     “Here, noona. Let me.” He wasn’t great at medical care, but right now it was all about time. He tied the fabric around her tight enough that it would stay and helped her to her feet.

     “Thanks.” She was already brushing past him to get to the elevator, but it was sincere enough. Not that it really mattered to Sehun. He was a mess inside, just barely holding it together. He wouldn't tell anyone else that, at least not right now. Right now he was going to push through the fear and death and get this shit done.

     The elevator doors opened for them and a light, breezy melody floated into the lobby. It was a cheerful contrast to the grim scene behind them. Sehun wanted to laugh at it, but he swallowed it down. Hyuna really didn’t seem in the mood for laughter. Watching each floor pass as they rose to the top of the tower was agonizing. It seemed to take ages.

     Two suited men were sitting in the entrance to the boss’ loft, completely unaware of what was transpiring on the floors below. Hyuna looked shocked and sent a worried glance to Sehun.

     “Ms. Hyuna, what are you doing here?” The first man raked his eyes up her body and smiled. “Here to show us a good time?” He laughed and smacked his partner on the shoulder as if to say ‘see how funny I am! Maybe she’ll sleep with me!’. Hyuna shot him in his stupid laughing face, and then the other while he was grabbing for his gun.

     “Ilhoon should have been done with the boss by now.” Hyuna was hesitating, glancing between two hallways. “If no one knows the boss is dead…” Sehun was trying to put pieces together in his head. If Ilhoon was alone with the boss, after the heist... Sehun didn’t want to think about what that meant. He hadn’t realized how tight his grip was on his gun until Hyuna put her hand on his.

     A group of men rushed out of a door down the closer hallway, confused and stumbling over each other. Sehun swears he heard a high-pitched squeal from one of them. The chaos of the moment gave Hyuna just enough time to topple over a fancy, hardwood armoire to use as cover. The second they were ducked behind it the sound of three shots rang out, bullets whizzing by them and colliding with the wall on the other side of the entrance way.

     “There are a lot more up here.” Hyuna was growling out the words. “The boss likes to feel safe.” Well, time to change that. Sehun fired over the armoire and managed to get someone in the stomach with a sickening squelch. Hyuna took out two more, one with a shot to the chest and the other with a shot to the neck. She ducked back down when a bullet zipped through her down hair.

     Maybe now wasn’t the best time to put her hair up, but she was stuffing it into a messy bun of the top of her head. Sweat was dripping down her neck, both from the stress and from the pain in her arm. As soon as Sehun heard a lull in the shots against the armoire he pushed himself up and actually tried to aim, using the armoire as a rest.

     He got one in the shoulder, then in the chest. Fuck. Yeah. There were two more and they were starting to look panicked. Sehun got one in the head. He let himself smirk a little. Maybe he was cut out for a life of crime after all. Sehun felt a bullet nearly graze his ear and holy fuck he had never gone from cocky to freaked out so fast in his life. Hyuna finished off the last one with a bullet to the throat. Yuck, Sehun really hated that.

“Down there is the bedroom.” She motioned to one of the hallways just as a door from the far end of the hall opened. “I’ll take the guys in the office.”

     “Aren’t there too many?” She shook her head and did her best to look confident.

     “I’ll take care of them, just find Ilhoon.” Sehun didn’t have it in him to argue. Hyuna vaulted over the armoire and he took off down the hall. He hesitated for a second in front of the ornate door. He was trying to brace himself, but he didn’t even know what he was going to see. He kicked the door in.

     Sehun felt all of the blood rush to his face. Ilhoon was on the bed, shirtless, wrists fastened to the headboard with zip ties. They were bright red from blood, digging deeply into Ilhoon’s skin as he struggled against them. He was bleeding from the mouth too, his lip split. The boss was sitting on Ilhoon’s chest, fingers on his own belt. Sehun fired at him.

     Nothing happened. The gun made a useless click. Fuck. God damn it. Hyuna had literally just told him they didn’t have unlimited ammo. The next thing Sehun knew the boss had tackled him into the door, slamming it closed. He managed to stay upright, but it was only long enough for the boss to punch him in the face. His head was spinning and he crumpled to the ground from the force of it. The boss hit considerably harder than his brother.

     The boss hit him again while he was down and he could taste copper flooding into his mouth. He heard Ilhoon yell something, maybe his name, but he couldn’t quite make it out over the sound of blood rushing through in his ears. Whatever it was the boss wasn’t happy. He kicked Sehun twice in the stomach. It hurt like hell, but at least it gave him enough time to clear his head.

     “I told you not to fuck around with him!” He kicked Sehun once more before he grabbed him by the hair and lugged Sehun up enough to sit against a marble statue of a woman. Then he smashed Sehun’s head back against the statue’s knee and there was that fucking spinning again. The boss’ belt made a tense zipping sound as he yanked it out of its loops, then Sehun felt it around his neck.

     Sehun grasped at it, trying to pull it away, trying to push or kick or something, but the boss cracked his head hard one more time and tightened the belt, fastening Sehun in place against the stone by his throat.

     Sehun’s rattled brain was trying to keep up, but he figured out what was happening quick enough when the boss tried to climb back over Ilhoon. Ilhoon wasn’t going down easy though, and he kicked his bare heel as hard as he could into the boss’ chest. The boss faltered.

     “Go fuck yourself you piece of shit!” The boss was taking deep, rough breaths, trying to get the air back in, and Sehun worked his fingers between the belt and his neck. It cut his air off even more and he could feel the involuntary panic crawling through his chest like spiders.

     The boss caught his breath and slapped Ilhoon in the face. The sound alone was enough to snap Sehun out of the panic, even if it was only a little. The boss gripped Ilhoon’s legs and forced himself between them. Ilhoon pulled at his wrists harder and the blood was starting to run down his arms in small beads. The boss adjusted Ilhoon’s hips into his lap, sitting back on his heels, and looked Sehun dead in the eye.

     “You’re going to watch while I fuck him.” As if that wasn’t fucking obvious, “and when it’s over I’m going to kill you.” The boss ran his hands along the waistband of Ilhoon’s pants, stopping on the button. “But I’m not going to kill you.” Sehun knew to Ilhoon that was a much bigger threat than death. He could feel the belt giving under his tugging so he tugged harder.

     The boss undid Ilhoon’s pants, but before he could go any farther Sehun gave one final tug. The belt didn’t come loose, but the statue did crash to the ground, shattering at the joints. Sehun yanked the belt over his head and tackled the boss over the bed. Sehun managed to land on top and he punched the boss with all the anger inside of him. He felt the boss’ nose give and crunch under his fist. So he did it again. When he pulled back a third time the boss fought back.

     Sehun was probably as tall as the boss, but the boss was thicker, stockier, and he used that weight to roll Sehun on to his back, switching their positions. Sehun didn’t know how many more blows to the head he could take. After the first one he could tell he bit his tongue, but he only felt the pain on the back of his head where it smashed into the floor. After the second his eyes unfocused for a couple of seconds.

     There wasn’t a third. Ilhoon was on the boss’ back, blood covered arms around his neck. Ilhoon was too light though, even Sehun could lift him, so the boss grabbed him by the arms and flipped him over, smashing him into the ground next to Sehun. Seriously how in the fuck could they be losing to one guy? What the fuck? Sehun figured this was probably why he was the boss.

     Ilhoon wasn’t as easily distracted though, Sehun like to think he’d be focused too without all the pain in his head, but whatever. Ilhoon was surging forward against the boss, propelled entirely by hatred, and the boss toppled backwards. Ilhoon had his hands around the boss’ throat, but they were slick with fresh blood and the boss was wiggling free.

     Sehun had to think of something. He managed to sit up and shake off the fog somewhat. He was looking around desperately for something, anything to use as a weapon. He didn’t see the knife until after the boss had grabbed it. He scrambled. Ilhoon cried out and stumbled backwards, knife buried to the handle in his shoulder. Sehun shouldn’t have dropped to Ilhoon’s side, but in the moment it was just a reaction. Ilhoon tried to pull the knife out, but he winced at the pain and let go instead.

     “Pull it out.”

     “You’ve never said _that_ to me before.” Ilhoon was glaring at him. Maybe he deserved it, his filter wasn’t great even on his best days but this was reaching a new level of ridiculous. He yanked the knife free and nearly threw up because of the blood.

     “It looks worse than it is.” Ilhoon forced the words out through gritted teeth so Sehun was having a hard time believing him. Sehun stood first, offering a hand to Ilhoon. He almost forgot about where they were.

     Everything that happened next happened in a flash. Ilhoon was on his feet, full force into the boss. Sehun heard the gunshot and then the boss hitting the floor with a thud. Suddenly it was hard to breathe, his body felt like someone had smashed him up with a baseball bat, and his legs gave out. He could feel the wall behind him and he let himself rest against it. Shit.

     Ilhoon plunged the knife into the boss, over and over, until he wasn’t moving. Sehun could have lived without that image, but that was true about so much of the night. It wasn’t until Ilhoon had crawled over to him with wide panicked eyes that he felt the pain in his side. When he looked down his shirt was soaked through with deep crimson blood.

     “Oh, fuck. I got shot.” He took it as a very bad sign that Ilhoon didn’t make a face at him. Other than the terrified pale as a ghost one anyway. The pain wasn’t the worst, he thought getting stabbed had hurt more, but if he thought his brain was getting foggy before it was ten times worse now.

     “I’m going to go get Hyuna. We’ll call an ambulance or-“ Sehun grabbed Ilhoon’s wrist before he could stand up, his own hand coated in blood.

     “Don’t. Just… Don’t leave me.” Sehun didn’t want to die. Not now when things could finally be okay. But more than that he didn’t want to die _alone_.

     “Okay, I won’t. Can you stand?” Ilhoon’s voice was so small and scared it made Sehun’s chest tighten. He used Ilhoon and the wall for support and wrenched himself to standing. It was agony. But Ilhoon ducked up his arm, hissing in pain at Sehun’s weight on his own stab wound, and led them down the hallway.

     Hyuna didn’t look great herself, but she was alive, sitting on the boss’ desk with distant eyes and an empty gun in her lap. Sehun didn’t see her move, but she was helping him into a leather chair by a gaudy bookshelf.

     “I called Joo, she’ll be here soon. I’ll call the doctor too.” Sehun was so fucking tired. He had never been so tired in his life. He felt cold hands on his cheeks.

     “Sehun. Hey.” He could focus on Ilhoon’s face. It was sad and worried and he hated it. He pulled Ilhoon into his lap and buried his face against Ilhoon’s bare chest. Blood from the stab wound be damned. It didn’t matter much right now anyway.

     “Ilhoonie, I love you. I love you so fucking much.” His voice was rough and dry even to his own ears.

     “I love you too, now stop being so dramatic.” Sehun managed to breathe out one laugh as his eyes slipped closed. He was shivering and he really wanted to thank whoever was draping a blanket over him and Ilhoon. He managed a small crack in his eyes and apparently it was second Ilhoon who gave him the gift of warmth. At least he could be comfortable in his final moments.

     Sehun’s eyes snapped open as a wave of pain radiated across his body. He was warm. More specifically he was in a warm bed in a plain room filled with sunshine. This was Ilhoon’s room. This was made even clearer by the fact that Ilhoon was sleeping next to him, curled up on the side that didn’t get stabbed, in clean pajamas. Sehun noticed the bandages around Ilhoon’s wrists first, and then the distance between them.

     He felt shaky and weak. Every inch of his body hurt. But he still shuffled himself over until he could turn to face Ilhoon, careful of his side. When he draped an arm over Ilhoon’s waist Ilhoon blinked his eyes open. He was bleary and confused but still smiling at Sehun.

     “I’m not dead.” Sehun sounded more like he was croaking than speaking.

     “I figured that out, thank you.” Ilhoon hesitated before he scooched over to close the space between them and tangled his legs with Sehun’s.

     “What happened?”

     “Do you mean in general or after you passed out?” Sehun tried to shrug but it was a mistake and he winced when his whole body tore apart. Well, it felt like it was tearing apart anyway.

     “In general, I guess.” Ilhoon tapped a nervous pattern against Sehun’s chest.

     “You and Hyuna came in and shot the place up. I, er,” he scowled and Sehun could see the split in his lip re-opening. “I was supposed to get the boss alone so he couldn’t escape in the chaos, get him comfortable and kill him but…”

     “You don’t have to say.” To be honest Sehun didn’t really want to hear about Ilhoon making the boss comfortable any more than Ilhoon wanted to talk about it.

     “He tried to kiss me and I let my temper get the best of me. I tried to kill him as soon as we were in that stupid bedroom.” Ilhoon’s voice was raising, angry at himself to the point that tears were starting to form in his eyes. “I almost got you killed.”

     “No,” Sehun jerked Ilhoon’s face up to his own, “I almost got myself killed.”

     “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” But Ilhoon’s lips were twitching where he was fighting a smile.

     “Yeah, of course. I’m saying if I would’ve died it was because I wanted to be there.” Ilhoon pressed his mouth gently against Sehun’s and held it. They couldn’t do much more than hold the contact, not with all of their injuries, but it was full of feelings and warmth.

     “Let’s try not to die anytime soon.” Ilhoon mumbled it into his mouth.

     “Agreed.” He kissed Ilhoon once more before Ilhoon pulled away to finish filling Sehun in.

     “Joo showed up right after you passed out. She’s getting everything sorted out right now.”

     “Do you think it will be an easy transition?” It was Ilhoon’s turn to shrug and wince. Sehun attempted to rub his back in comfort but it was hard to avoid the damn stab wound on his shoulder.

     “It should be. It won’t be completely without difficulty, but with the drug dealers and prostitutes on her side no one will want to ruffle too many feathers.” Ah yes, the slum’s favorite past times, getting high and fucking someone you’ve paid. Sehun loved the slums in his own weird way, but it wasn’t winning any prizes for being a happy, family neighborhood.

     “And how am I not dead?”

     “The boss’ very own personal doctor patched you up and we brought you here, but...”

     “But?”

     “It’s just going to be you and me here, alone.”

     “That doesn’t sound so bad.” Sehun let himself try for flirty. Ilhoon gave him a sarcastic smile in return.

     “Oh? We’re going to be stuck here, just you and I. Tending to each other’s wounds, bathing each other so we don’t get our bandages wet.” Ilhoon’s voice was getting sexier and sexier as he went. “And we can’t even have sex for at least a week.” Sehun laughed. It hurt like fuck but he couldn’t stop it. The pain made him laugh harder.

     “That’s okay. We can wait a week.” Ilhoon scoffed and gave Sehun his best offended look.

     “Speak for yourself!” Sehun pulled Ilhoon back against his body and snuggled around until he was comfortable.

     “We’ll just have to lay next to each other and jerk off I guess.”

     “How romantic.”

     “We’ll just have to lay next to each other on rose petals and jerk off in candlelight I guess.” Ilhoon was laughing now. It was quick, probably from the pain in his shoulder, but it was warm and happy.

     “When we’re up to it we can go on a romantic date.” Sehun hummed an acknowledgment and let his eyes droop shut.

     “I’m going to romance you so hard.”

     “I look forward to it.” Ilhoon cuddled into the blankets a little farther until they were almost over his head.

     “You should. Let’s sleep now though, we’ve got plenty of time for romance later.” And Sehun could say that with full confidence. They had plenty of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last official chapter of New Blood Hustle! I'm going to upload an epilogue but it's not in relation to this main story.  
> To anyone who read this far, thank you so much!


	25. Epilogue: Saturday

                The sun was warm on his skin when Sehun woke up. He really wished he had remembered to close the blinds, even more so when he remembered what he and Ilhoon had been doing with those blinds open. Ilhoon was still sleeping, back pressed against Sehun’s chest, and Sehun hugged him just a little harder with the arm he had slung over Ilhoon’s middle. Sehun had insisted they didn’t need a bigger bed, thanks to Ilhoon being constantly cold and Sehun loving to hold on in his sleep they would never use the space. Ilhoon had run sneaky fingers under the hem of Sehun’s shirt and whispered “but think of all the space you’ll have to throw me around” and Sehun had given in.

                Sehun pulled himself out of the warmth of the covers, making sure to tuck them quickly around Ilhoon’s bare shoulders, and wandered to the kitchen. He decided coffee first. Xiumin had given him some fancy machine that could make whatever you wanted and a thousand other things on top of that, but he used it for black coffee almost exclusively. While that was brewing he could make breakfast. Too bad their fridge only had leftover strawberry roll and kimchi. When was the last time they went grocery shopping? Maybe he’d ask one of Luna’s girls to do it for him, with pay of course.

                The coffee machine beeped, drawing Sehun out of his reverie. Strawberry roll it was then. He didn’t bother slicing it, there wasn’t enough left, or plating it because Ilhoon wouldn’t care. The flimsy white cardboard it came in would be fine. He poured two cups of coffee and filled one with caramel syrup. No low-fat milk today.

                “Ya!” Ilhoon jerked awake and rubbed his eyes. Sehun slipped back under the covers, his back against the headboard, and waited patiently while Ilhoon gathered enough sense to do the same. Once Sehun was sure he wouldn’t drop it he handed Ilhoon his coffee.

                “Mm, thanks.” His voice was still coarse and sleepy, but Ilhoon sipped on his coffee and smiled. Sehun plucked away at the strawberry roll until he thought Ilhoon was coherent enough to eat. When he did he offered a piece to Ilhoon on the lone pair of chopsticks he’d brought from the kitchen. After they finished it Sehun turned to drop the empty box on the floor.

                “We need groceries, I think I’ll call –“ He was stopped by Ilhoon’s hand inching into his underwear, not quite touching his dick but close enough. The second he turned back Ilhoon’s mouth was on his, too fast for Sehun to even react.

                “I appreciate the breakfast in bed this morning,” Sehun opened his mouth to say that it wasn’t really breakfast and he barely did anything but thought better of it when Ilhoon curled warm fingers around his cock. “I could show you just how much.” He positioned himself between Sehun’s legs and stroked Sehun slowly until he was fully hard, precum leaking from his tip. Then he let go.

                “Wha-“ Sehun was cut short by Ilhoon’s tongue running across his head, taking the whole thing into his mouth a moment later. Sehun felt himself hit the back of Ilhoon’s throat and mother fucker he would never get used to how good Ilhoon was at sucking dick. When Ilhoon pulled back slowly and drug his tongue along the underside of his cock Sehun groaned, head thrown against the headboard with a woody thunk.

                Ilhoon was bobbing his head, moaning and swallowing around Sehun and Sehun was almost on the the edge already. He pulled on Ilhoon’s hair, just hard enough that Ilhoon removed his mouth and smirked at Sehun instead. Fuck that. Sehun had Ilhoon by the arms in a hurry, turning them and pinning the smaller man underneath him. He felt Ilhoon’s hands at the base of his neck as their lips met, thumbs against his jaw. Just as Ilhoon ran his tongue across Sehun’s bottom lip he rolled them to be on top again. Too bad he rolled them the wrong way.

                “Ow, motherfucker!” Sehun’s head collided with their nightstand as they tumbled off the bed. Ilhoon was straddling him, but it was a lot less sexy than thirty seconds ago. Instead of heated, passionate hair pulling Ilhoon was running his fingers through Sehun’s hair to check for damage. Sehun was leaning against their nightstand and the handle was stabbing him in the back but he let Ilhoon continue anyway.

                “Sorry.” Ilhoon grumbled in shame, Sehun chuckled. He could practically see the sparkle come back to Ilhoon’s eyes at the sound.

                “Didn’t we get the bigger bed to avoid exactly this?” Ilhoon had finished assessing Sehun’s non-existent injuries and he moved to rest his fingers against Sehun’s abdomen.

                “Yet here we are.”

                “We might as well take advantage of it while we can.” Ilhoon cocked his head slightly and furrowed his brows. Before he could ask any questions though Sehun had him by the hips and was shoving him face first against the bed. It took a second of awkward maneuvering but Sehun was getting better at ‘throwing him around’ as Ilhoon called it. He stretched Ilhoon’s arms out across the bedspread, their bed was the perfect height. When he draped himself over Ilhoon’s back Ilhoon let out a small whimper at the weight, it was Sehun’s favorite kind of whimper.

                “I’m going to fuck you so hard.” Sehun growled into Ilhoon’s ear before kissing underneath it, then on his neck, to the junction of his neck and shoulder. He worked a small spot into Ilhoon’s skin there. There was something about marking Ilhoon that gave him a rush of pleasure. Even though they didn’t have to keep their relationship a secret anymore Sehun loved the physical proof they were together.

                Ilhoon’s arms flexed as his fingers gripped more tightly into the comforter underneath him and he pushed back against Sehun.

                “If you’re going to fuck me, just fuck me already!” Ilhoon was flushed, mouth open and panting, but he still managed to snap at Sehun. Sehun kicked his own underwear off, but took his time sliding Ilhoon’s down past his ass, touching Ilhoon’s thighs with the entirety of his hands, until his underwear was on the ground.

                Sehun backed away from Ilhoon to grab the lube from their nightstand. Scratch that, from the floor where it had fallen off the nightstand. He pressed two fingers into Ilhoon right from the start and Ilhoon moaned, face buried in the mattress. He was pushing himself onto Sehun’s fingers but Sehun used his free hand to hold Ilhoon’s hips still while he pushed deeper.

                “Oh God, please, fuck.” Sehun really wanted to take his time, but Ilhoon was already whining and writhing around and Sehun was so hard it was almost painful. He pulled out his hand and Ilhoon whimpered, turning to look over his shoulder at Sehun. Sehun made sure there was enough lube on his cock, if he wasn’t going to make sure Ilhoon was fully prepared it was the least he could do, and lined himself up with Ilhoon’s entrance.

                He gripped Ilhoon’s hips with both hands and thrust all the way in. Ilhoon cried out and balled his fists in their blanket. It was a cry of pleasure though, not pain, so Sehun pulled out almost all the way and thrust in again. He knew the pace was rough, that he was holding onto Ilhoon’s hips too tightly and there would definitely be fingertip sized bruises on Ilhoon’s pale skin, but Ilhoon was gasping and groaning and begging so he didn’t relent.

                He heard the bed drag across the hardwood floor with a rough scrape even over the sound of their skin meeting. He thought for just a second that he shouldn’t be so forceful, but Ilhoon sobbed out the words ‘please, Sehunnie, don’t stop’ so he didn’t. He kept pounding into Ilhoon’s small body at a brutal pace.

                “I’m going to come.” Ilhoon huffed out the words through labored breaths and reach to grab his own cock, but Sehun grabbed his hand and forced it back above his head on the bed.

                “No, I want you to come just from me fucking you.” Ilhoon didn’t struggle against him, keeping his hands where Sehun had put them even when Sehun returned his grip to Ilhoon’s hips. It only took a few more thrusts before Sehun felt Ilhoon tighten around him, moaning out Sehun’s name as he came. The sensation around his hardness pushed Sehun over the edge, he felt his pleasure building. He buried himself as deeply in Ilhoon as he could and came too.

                He didn’t pull out right away. He felt dizzy and drained so he wrapped his arms around Ilhoon’s middle and rested his forehead between Ilhoon’s sharp shoulder blades. Ilhoon wasn’t fairing much better if his ragged breathing and dead weight against their mattress were anything to go by. When he felt the air getting cold against his sweat slicked skin his kissed Ilhoon’s spine and moved, twisting so he could lay on the bed, pulling Ilhoon’s tired form with him.

                Ilhoon drug the comforter over them and snuggled against Sehun. They laid in silence against each other, lazily kissing and touching until they felt like themselves again.

                “My knees…” Sehun could agree with that sentiment. The hardwood was way too, well, hard. If they did this again they were going to use a damn pillow that’s for sure.

                “Let me see.” Sehun pulled the blanked back to get a look and fuck, he really did a number on Ilhoon this morning. Bruises were already starting to form on his hips, the hickey on his shoulder was bigger than Sehun meant to make it, and his knees were both bruised and scratched. Sehun touched the marks softly and laughed.

                “It looks like I beat you up or something.” Ilhoon glared and darted to the full length mirror propped up in the corner of their room.

                “Beat me up!? These are _very_ obviously from sex!” Sehun couldn’t help but laugh harder at Ilhoon standing there naked, crazy sex hair and all.

                “No one will see once you have clothes on, just don’t wear shorts or a crop top.” Ilhoon zeroed in on Sehun’s knees and joined in on the laughter.

                “Same goes for you.” Sehun’s own knees were a mottled purple-red and damn it they were never kneeling on the floor again. Sehun pulled himself off the bed and went to the dresser to find some clothes.

                “We could say we simultaneously slipped and fell and landed on our knees.” Ilhoon gave him a quick kiss and rummaged for his own clothes.

                “Or we could just wear pants. Did you want to play video games today?”

                “Yeah, I was thinking about it.” Sehun grabbed whatever was on top, Ilhoon weighed his options like they were going out instead of just sitting on the couch.

                “I’ll change the sheets and start laundry while you message your friends. After last night and this morning they need to be washed.” Ilhoon let out a surprised noise when Sehun looped and arm around his waist and leaned in to kiss him. Sehun would never not feel totally, overwhelmingly appreciative when Ilhoon offered to do laundry.

                “Thanks, I love you.” Ilhoon smiled up at him as kissed him one more time before pulling away.

                “I love you too.” Ilhoon made his way to the bathroom to get ready and Sehun trailed after him, taking the opportunity to pinch Ilhoon’s exposed butt. It earned him a smack on the arm that was entirely too hard.

                Once he was clean enough and dressed he plopped down in front of his computer. It was fancier than anything he’d ever used before, custom built by E’dawn just for him, and he even had a nice chair to go with it. Sure, it was just sitting in their living room, and right now they didn’t have a tv so they had pushed the couch behind the desk so they could watch movies on it, but Sehun loved this computer and someday he’d put it in a room of its own.

                He sent a message to the group chat to see if anyone was up for a few games. He got a some replies immediately, and they agreed to play in 15 minutes. One person sent him an ominous private message that read ‘can we chat without the others?’ Chanyeol was always friendly and bubbly and way too competitive. What the hell could be wrong? Sehun sent an okay and a video call popped up instantly. When he accepted he was met with Chanyeol’s serious face.

                “Hey hyung, what’s up?”

                “You’re dating a boy right now, right?” Chanyeol’s words were shaky and unsure. Sehun was acutely aware that said boy had just collapsed into the couch behind him.

                “Yeah, why?” Chanyeol was hesitating, chewing on the side of his thumb.

                “How is it… you know, different from dating a girl?”

                “You mean besides the penis?” Despite his mood Chanyeol barked out a laugh.

                “Yeah, besides that.” Sehun probably wasn’t a good person to answer this question. He didn’t live in the same world as Chanyeol. He had no idea what it was like to date a boy to just… date, without the crime and criminal hierarchies and life threatening situations.

                “He’s about a hundred times more high maintenance than any girl I’ve dated.” Sehun felt the rough canvas of a decorative pillow smack him in the back of the head. Chanyeol started laughing and Sehun smiled at his brightening mood. “It’s not that different, honestly.”

                “So hypothetically, if I liked a boy I should go for it.” Sehun shrugged.

                “Yeah, why not? Worst that will happen is you’ll get a dick in your mouth and realize it really isn’t for you.” Chanyeol was flushed red to the tips of his ears but he was still laughing.

                “Can I meet your boyfriend?”

                “Sure.” Sehun had talked about Ilhoon with his gaming friends, probably more than they wanted him to, but he hadn’t actually introduced him. It was hard when most of your interactions were over a game. Ilhoon dropped into his lap and waved at Chanyeol.

                “Chanyeol, Ilhoon, Ilhoon, Chanyeol.”

                “It’s nice to meet you.” Ilhoon was more reserved and shy than Sehun had ever seen him and it was seriously blowing his mind. Is this how Ilhoon talked to people who weren’t from the slums? All cute and polite?

                “You too. You’re very pretty.” Ilhoon was half smiling at him but Chanyeol immediately regretted the words that tumbled out of his mouth. “I mean, not pretty.” Was apparently Chanyeol’s idea of a save.

                “Nah, he is pretty.” Ilhoon elbowed him in the chest.

                “It’s fine when he says it but I can’t?” Ilhoon made a disapproving sound in his throat.

                “I don’t know _him_.”

                “But I’ve seen you naked so I know just how pretty you are.” Ilhoon gave him a look of fond irritation that was almost a permanent fixture on his features lately. Sehun kissed the upturned corner of Ilhoon’s mouth.

                “I’m going to read. Have fun with your game.” Ilhoon pushed himself off Sehun’s lap and returned to his place on the couch.

                “You seem really happy together.” Chanyeol was right, they were happy. And life had been surprisingly easy the last few months.

                “Hey hyung, if you like a boy it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with it.” Chanyeol nodded and scratched at his chest. He clearly didn’t believe Sehun, at least not entirely, but Sehun could tell he wanted to. Suddenly a brilliant idea came to Sehun.

                “We could go on a double date!” He heard Ilhoon scoff behind him but he chose to ignore it because Chanyeol was smiling a big, puppy smile at him.

                “Yeah, that would be great.”

                Sehun lost track of time, he wasn’t sure how many games they played. He was aware of Ilhoon no longer snarking at him when he died though. He glanced over his shoulder and Ilhoon was asleep on the couch, legs stretched out and head resting against the back. He was still holding his book open like he was reading it. When Sehun told his friends he was going to play this last game and then log off they grumbled and joked about him being whipped, but they didn’t ask him to play another. Once he was finished he set his headphones aside gently.

                “Hey, Ilhoon.” He was hovering over the smaller man, shaking his shoulder, but Ilhoon barely stirred. Sehun grabbed the spare blanket from the closet and climbed onto the couch, pushing Ilhoon’s legs apart so he could lay between them, his back to Ilhoon’s chest.

                “You’re too heavy.” Ilhoon didn’t open his eyes, didn’t push Sehun off. Instead he draped his arms around Sehun’s shoulders and pulled him closer.

                “I tried to wake you up so we could switch.” Ilhoon hummed, already dozing off again. Sehun pulled the blanket up over them and let Ilhoon’s soft, rhythmic breathing lull him to sleep.

                He was startled awake by the sound of his ringtone. He didn’t remember setting it as something so fucking annoying. He fumbled around their coffee table, not ready to leave the warmth of the blanket and Ilhoon’s arms, but it was futile. He had to sit up to grab it. The phone lit up with a grumpy picture of his brother.

                “Hyung?” Ilhoon adjusted at Sehun’s voice, and with one leg over the taller man’s lap he kneed Sehun in the stomach.

                “Sorry, are you busy?” Sehun scrubbed a hand over his face and into his hair, willing himself to wake up.

                “No, I was just waking up from a nap. What’s going on?” There was a silence on the other end of the line. “Hyung?”

                “I was wondering if you wanted to go out for ramen tomorrow.” The awkwardness was heavy in his brother’s voice. Tomorrow was Sunday right? So he didn’t have anything to do, not really. They weren’t meeting with Hyuna and E’dawn until Monday.

                “Yeah, sure. I’ve got time.”

                “You uhm…” Ilhoon was finally awake and he pulled himself up to sit next to Sehun, head on Sehun’s shoulder. “You can bring Ilhoon if you want.” Sehun had to give his brother some credit, he was trying to make things better between them.

                “He has other things he’s doing tomorrow.” And it wasn’t even a lie. Ilhoon had agreed to help Joo with something drugs something something. Sehun was paying attention when Ilhoon told him, honest, he just couldn’t remember when it came to manufacturing. He heard his brother sigh in relief.

                “Oh, okay. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. The place next to Xiumin’s at noon?”

                “I’ll be there.” Sehun hung up without a proper goodbye, but he couldn’t stand anymore awkwardness.

                “Things seem to be going well.” Ilhoon’s voice was quiet and hesitant.

                “They’re better.” Sehun’s stomach interrupted them. Apparently splitting a carby sweet for breakfast wasn’t enough. Ilhoon laughed and patted Sehun’s stomach before standing, stretching his arms above his head.

                “I guess we should go eat, huh?” Sehun couldn’t resist. He ran his hands across the exposed skin on Ilhoon’s abdomen. Ilhoon was smirking down at him. Sehun couldn’t have that. He jolted up and sealed their mouths together. It was a little rougher than he meant it to be, probably because Ilhoon kissed back with just as much force. Sehun pulled away first.

                “I guess we should. How about that fancy place in Apgujeong?” Ilhoon pushed him towards the bedroom.

                “Only if you change into actual clothes.” Sehun looked down at his torn jeans and thin t-shirt. Personally, he didn’t see anything wrong with it. Sure they were old, and ripped, and maybe there was a stain from something, and okay yeah, he could change. Ilhoon didn’t _need_ to change, but he followed Sehun to the bedroom anyway.

                Really, Sehun just put on newer jeans, a nicer t-shirt, and added an expensive belt. It wasn’t upper-class, Gucci from head to toe or anything, but this belt had cost the same as a fucking month’s rent. And all for what? A barely noticeable silver H as a buckle? The slums side of him scoffed but he actually loved it.

                “It looks good.” Ilhoon was practically purring as he tucked the front of Sehun’s shirt in.

                “You always think I look good.” Ilhoon smiled a crooked smile up at him. He also looked good, wearing some fitted long-sleeve thing he’d also spent way too much money on. Who were they becoming? Oh well, if they were going to risk their lived for the money they could spend it on whatever they wanted. That included over-priced foreign food.

                They had been to the restaurant a couple of times before. Mostly they liked eating at the Korean restaurants in the slums. It was the food they grew up eating so it would always be their favorite, and the slum’s restaurants were all owned by hardened old grandmothers who were angry as shit but great in the kitchen. Sehun had been learning to cook too, but that was slow going. He could still remember Ilhoon eating the first thing he’d ever made with a horrible grimace as he tried to force out the words ‘it’s… good.’

                It was nothing like the lobster sashimi and udon with the broth that took ten hours to make, though Sehun had a feeling ten hours was overkill and sounded better than it tasted. Whatever, he and Ilhoon both liked it and the restaurant’s perfect lighting and quiet atmosphere made for a great date night.

                “We should go to Japan sometime. I bet the food there is even better than this.” Sehun didn’t think anything of the suggestion. He and Ilhoon hadn’t travelled anywhere yet, except Gwangju for a race here and there and Busan with Luna once when they got drunk. Ilhoon hesitated, slurping noodles loudly in the stillness.

                “Yeah, I’d like that.” Ilhoon’s voice was coy, but Sehun didn’t know why exactly. They lived together, why would travelling together be a big deal?

                “What’s wrong?” Ilhoon studied Sehun’s features and Sehun felt like his soul was being examined. After what felt like ages Ilhoon laughed to himself.

                “Nothing, I don’t know. Leaving the country together feels like a big step doesn’t it?”

                “It’s only to Japan. When I take you to London then you can freak out.” Sehun didn’t know why he said it, he had only thought of taking Ilhoon to London a few times before, mostly when Ilhoon got excited by something. This felt a lot like a promise. When Ilhoon’s shocked expression morphed into one of absolute affection Sehun started planning airfare and hotels in his mind. He would definitely make it happen.

                “London would be fun.” Ilhoon was clearly swallowing down his excitement. “If you really want to go I can start looking at flights.”

                “No.” Sehun thought Ilhoon might slap him. “I’ll do it. I want to take you there.”

                “Sweetheart, you already take me there.” Sehun flushed all the way to the tips of his ears at Ilhoon’s flirty tone. He stood up and Ilhoon startled.

                “I’ll go pay.” He heard Ilhoon laugh as he walked to the counter.

                After dinner they decided to walk around Apgujeong and do a little shopping. Sehun was never into shopping much before, but he also never had much disposable income before. Now that he didn’t have to worry that spending thirty thousand won on some stupid bath bomb thing would mean he couldn’t eat he could buy it just because. Well, it wasn’t _just_ because. He decided Ilhoon was a terrible influence.

                They didn’t buy much else, but they passed an ice cream shop near the entrance to a park and they couldn’t resist. Sehun dropped his cone when Ilhoon shoved him and he had to get a new one. The server looked irritated, but not as much as Ilhoon. Apparently he didn’t like being called a ‘basic bitch’, but he had gotten vanilla, _vanilla_ , so what was Sehun supposed to do? Say nothing?

                Sehun was laughing, but he kissed the corner of Ilhoon’s mouth as an apology and laced their fingers. Ilhoon squeezed his hand to let him know he wasn’t really offended. They walked through the park, then along the river as the sun set. It was stupidly cliché but Sehun loved every second of it. He was starting to accept the fact that deep down he was practically a drama obsessed thirteen year old.

                “It’s too bad you have to work tomorrow.”

                “And next weekend you’re going to Gwangju right?”

                “Yeah, for the racing weekend with Kai and Taemin.” Sehun was hoping that he could convince them to help start up a street racing scene in Seoul. It would be nice to have some racing closer, and if Kai would help him get things set up Sehun could run it himself. Joo had already told him she’d support him if he put in the work.

                “I wish I could go with you.” Ilhoon was grumbling. He had agreed to do something with E’dawn that was all a big secret. Sehun could think of only one thing that they would keep a secret from their significant others and that something involved E’dawn buying a ring.

                “E’dawn will be happy to have you with him. Besides, if things go well Kai will come back with me so it’s almost like you went.”

                “No, it really isn’t.”

                By the time they got back to their apartment it was already dark. It was perfect for a relaxing bath with their thirty thousand won bath bomb. The damn thing better have gold in it. Ilhoon went straight to the bathroom, but Sehun stripped off his clothes first, throwing them into a pile in his closet. He’d get bitched at later and he’d have to remind Ilhoon it wasn’t that long ago that _he_ kept his clothes in a pile.

                Ilhoon was lighting the last candle when Sehun entered the bathroom, shutting the door with a soft click to keep the heat in. The yellow light was flickering across the tile and Ilhoon’s face. It was a nice sight, but Ilhoon was still wearing way too many clothes. Sehun slipped his arms around Ilhoon’s middle and kissed his neck.

                “Why don’t you get these clothes off?” He mumbled it into Ilhoon’s skin before kissing him again and letting his hands wander up under Ilhoon’s shirt.

                “Good to know the romance isn’t dead.” Ilhoon was deadpan. He set the lit candle down on the sink and twisted out of Sehun’s hold. Sehun wanted to protest, but Ilhoon was pulling his shirt off before Sehun could get any words out. While Ilhoon was unbuttoning and stepping out of his pants Sehun ran the bath.

                He heard a noise of irritation over the click of the tub stopper. He turned around to see Ilhoon, naked and angry, trying desperately to get the plastic off of the bath bomb. Sehun watched him for what felt like ten minutes. He knew he shouldn’t be standing there looking amused, but he couldn’t help it.

                “God damn it…” Ilhoon was griping to himself. “Thirty thousand won and it all went into this fucking packaging.” Sehun laughed, so he wasn’t the only one focused on the cost.

                “Here, let me.” Ilhoon handed it over like it was a hot potato. Sehun was determined, he was not going to fuck this up, he just needed to get a fingernail into the plastic. It took him three tries, but at least he got it. He turned to toss it into the water and Ilhoon slapped his ass.

                “Good job.”

                “And here you were worried about romance.” Sehun slid into the bathtub. He was barely settled when Ilhoon clambered in after him, resting his back against Sehun’s chest. The water filled up quickly with two grown men in the tub and Ilhoon kicked at the handle until the water shut off.

                The room was filled with a strong scent of lavender from the bath bomb, the air was damp and warm, and the gentle flickering light from the candles added to the relaxing atmosphere. Sehun let his eyes close, let himself enjoy the quiet moment and the comfortable rise and fall of Ilhoon’s chest against his.

                He was startled back to attention by the sound of the water running again. When did Ilhoon sit up? When did the water get so cold? It took a minute for Sehun to realize he had dozed off. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes as Ilhoon was turning in the water to face him.

                “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Sehun pushed himself up, he could feel a cramp in his back where it was stuck awkwardly against the back of the basin.

                “It’s fine, I don’t want to sleep yet anyway.” Ilhoon leaned forward to kiss him.

                “Got something else in mind?” Ilhoon was smirking against his mouth. Sehun did in fact have something else in mind. He pulled Ilhoon forward into his lap and he felt Ilhoon tangle his legs around Sehun’s back. The first few times they had fooled around in the bath had ended in cramping and nearly broken toes when Ilhoon had gotten his leg in the wrong spot and slipped.

                Sehun held Ilhoon around the middle and grazed his lips across the smaller man’s collar bone, then is jaw, and finally his mouth. Ilhoon grabbed Sehun’s face and deepened the kiss, working their lips together. When Ilhoon swiped his tongue across Sehun’s lips he groaned. He was already hard, Ilhoon’s weight in his lap pressing down on him in the best way. Ilhoon was hard too, he could feel it where their bodies met.

                He slipped his tongue into Ilhoon’s mouth and Ilhoon met Sehun’s tongue with his own. Their kissing wasn’t hurried, but it was strong and passionate. Sehun wondered if he could come just from kissing. They’d have to try that sometime. Not now though, now he slid his cock across the skin of Ilhoon’s ass.

                Ilhoon whimpered into their kiss and shifted his arms around Sehun’s neck like he was a buoy in a storm. Sehun didn’t break the contact, but the kiss was definitely more sloppy while he was reaching around their shower caddy for a small bottle that he knew was somewhere in the stupid basket. He growled in frustration and Ilhoon shuddered. Sehun pulled back, surprised.

                “What was that?” He had stopped rooting around for the lube, but his hand was still hanging lamely out of the caddy. Ilhoon was flushed, not just from being turned on, he was embarrassed.

                “It’s hot, okay?”

                “Not being able to find the lube?” Ilhoon buried his face into Sehun’s shoulder.

                “The growling.” Sehun let out a single light laugh and finally got ahold of the lube.

                “I’ll have to remember that.” He could almost feel Ilhoon rolling his eyes into his neck. He figured they each had their thing, and for him it was definitely Ilhoon’s desperate little whimper. He really couldn’t say anything about Ilhoon liking the sound of his frustration.

                Speaking of Sehun’s favorite sound, he pulled Ilhoon’s hair, not hard, just enough to encourage Ilhoon to move forward so they could kiss more, and Ilhoon whimpered at the sensation. It spurred Sehun into action. His mouth was back on Ilhoon’s and he was pressing a lubed finger against Ilhoon’s entrance carefully. Ilhoon moaned into their kiss and Sehun pressed a little farther.

                He was purposefully careful with his preparation and for once Ilhoon wasn’t egging him on. He was working Ilhoon open with two fingers, slow and deliberate, when Ilhoon couldn’t take it anymore. He was moaning soft, short moans into what was no longer a steady kiss.

                “Please, Sehun, please. I need you.” Sehun rubbed Ilhoon’s back with his free hand comfortingly. He needed it too, he was so hard it ached, but he wanted to take his time tonight. He added a third finger and Ilhoon sobbed.

                “Just a little more, okay?” He kept his voice tender and Ilhoon nodded slightly. He kissed Ilhoon softly this time, no tongue just comforting affection, and pushed into Ilhoon as far as he could in their current position. He fucked Ilhoon with his fingers with an easy rhythm until Ilhoon was rolling his own hips, eyes scrunched shut.

                Sehun lined himself up and pushed inside Ilhoon. Ilhoon squeezed tightly where his arms were around Sehun’s neck and Sehun had to stop before Ilhoon fucking strangled him. Ilhoon got the hint because he loosened his hold. Finally Sehun was buried to the base, and for a short moment he stayed still, letting Ilhoon fully adjust before he moved again.

                They weren’t kissing much anymore. They were mostly just keeping their faces close, foreheads together. Ilhoon was the one who moved first, pulling himself up and shifting back down against Sehun. Sehun let him set the pace, and it seemed like Ilhoon also wanted to take his time. He was rolling his hips slowly, making sure Sehun went as deep as possible every time. It was passionate grinding more than energetic fucking.

                And Sehun truly understood Ilhoon’s earlier attitude. It was taking every bit of his self-control not to fuck up into Ilhoon. It helped when he pulled back enough to look at Ilhoon’s face. His eyes were scrunched shut and his mouth was open, emitting small pants and moans with every movement.

                “Look at me.” Ilhoon did. He opened his eyes and focused on Sehun. Suddenly everything felt more intense. Sehun could feel Ilhoon’s tight heat around him, his weight above him, even as light as he was. He was getting close. He sealed his mouth back against Ilhoon’s and pulled the smaller man tight to his body. Ilhoon managed to keep the same sensual pace despite Sehun’s embrace but he broke their kiss to look at Sehun once more.

                “I love you.” Ilhoon whispered it but it sounded so loud to Sehun.

                “I love you too.”

                “Come inside me.” Sehun moaned at the command and it only took a few more thrusts for him to obey, dragging Ilhoon’s face against his in a rough kiss as he did. His hand found Ilhoon’s hardness only seconds later and he stroked him with languid movements until Ilhoon came too. His body tightened around Sehun’s spent cock.

                They stayed like that, holding each other and kissing until Ilhoon shivered.

                “The water is cold.” Sehun hummed tiredly into one final kiss before breaking away to stand, helping Ilhoon up after. They ran the shower hotter than they usually do, but it felt good. They may be better at fucking in the tub but now that Sehun was coming down from… well, coming, his muscles were aching. Ilhoon knew him to well because he was massaging Sehun’s shoulders while he washed the taller man’s back.

                They stayed in the shower too long, they even brushed their teeth in there, and Sehun’s fingers were prunes by the time he was pulling on clean clothes. He grabbed an old pair of boxers and a t-shirt from an idol band he didn’t listen to. One of Luna’s girls had gotten it for him when she went to a concert. It was nice but he would never wear it in public. At least he could wear it to bed, even if Ilhoon made fun of him the first few times.

                “Ready for bed?” Sehun turned and was not sure of the answer anymore. If he wasn’t so tired he would definitely be trying for one more round of sex before bed. Ilhoon was wearing one of Sehun’s shirts, one of Sehun’s bigger shirts, and it looked both cute and sexy somehow.

                “Yeah, bed.” Ilhoon was smirking at him.

                “You like the shirt?”

                “Of course.”

                “There’s more.” Ilhoon pulled up the shirt to fully show off his underwear. They were the normal trunk style he always wore, in baby blue. Sehun wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to be looking at. The he saw it, the small pattern. It wasn’t images though, it was ‘Sehun’ over and over.

                “What? When?” Sehun felt himself flush. It wasn’t fair, Ilhoon shouldn’t be playing into his possessive side like this. Ilhoon really liked riling him up.

                “I had them made a couple weeks ago and they came in yesterday. Do you like them?” Ilhoon fucking knew he liked them, his cocky smile made it obvious. But just in case Sehun strode over to him and grabbed his face to kiss him. It was much rougher than their earlier making out but Sehun was trying to make a point.

                “I like them very much.” He didn’t mean to growl it out, but Ilhoon certainly appreciated it. He pulled Sehun down on to the bed over him and they collapsed into a piled of angular limbs and mashed faces. Before Sehun could get his tongue in Ilhoon’s mouth Ilhoon stopped him.

                “Then tomorrow you can take them off of me.” Sehun sighed. Tomorrow, right. They were tired, he was _tired_. He shuffled around until they were both under the covers and clicked off the light. He felt Ilhoon’s head against his shoulder and he hauled him closer automatically. It seemed pretty automatic for Ilhoon to drape his arm over Sehun’s abdomen too.

                Sehun drifted off to sleep, comforted by Ilhoon’s warmth and breathing next to him. He was ready for tomorrow morning when he could get those underwear off of Ilhoon, maybe with his mouth. Really though, he already had a great day. It was pretty much the perfect Saturday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's all over! I hope you enjoyed this last little add on. If anyone wants to read about Chanyeol and the boy he likes I might write a (shorter) story about them. I'm also down to write some one-shots in this universe, either for Sehun/Ilhoon romance or other characters you'd like to see so if you have requests let me know in the comments!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! <3


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